Tue, Jul 06, 2004 page3

• Forging a democracy, one step at a time

  Once a political prisoner during the Chinese Nationalist Party authoritarian era, lawyer-turned-politician Examination Yuan President Yao Chia-wen has personally witnessed the nation's democratic development over the years. `Taipei Times' staff reporter Ko Shu-ling recently talked with the former chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party to take a closer look at his view of democracy and the challenges that lie ahead for President Chen Shui-bian in his second term

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  Taipei Times: In President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) inauguration speech in May, he pledged to hand to the people of Taiwan a new version of the Constitution -- one that is "timely, relevant and viable." What is your definition of a constitution that meets the president's description?

  Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文): A country's constitution has two fundamental meanings. It's not only the organic law of the government, but also a warranty for the people's rights.

  A government organization is like the structure of a car. We need different kinds of vehicles when we're driving in different road conditions. For example, when we drive on a freeway, we need an automobile. When we drive on the farm, we need a tractor. When we drive in the snow, we need a snowmobile and if we drive in the desert, we need a four-wheel drive.

  

  Examination Yuan President Yao Chia-wen speaks during an interview with the Taipei Times.

  PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES

  A "timely" constitution has to suit the needs of the current time as well as those of the nation and the people. As we are in an era of democracy and globalization, we desperately need to update the Constitution, which was enacted 57 years ago in China, or better yet replace it. Our Constitution has gone through six amendments over the past 13 years. It's time to rewrite the whole thing, which is the political norm in democratic countries.

  A "relevant" constitution has to outline a clear-cut picture of the government structure, national boundaries, national flag and national moniker. The government structure of five branches mandated in the Constitution is not only outdated, but also unsuitable for Taiwan. We need a small but efficient government because Taiwan is, after all, a small country.

  TT: President Chen also said in his inauguration speech that the legislature has to pass a constitutional amendment, which is something he said during the election campaign that he wouldn't do. Do you think he has changed his stance in the constitutional reform campaign?

  Yao: What President Chen aspires to do is to implement a new version of the Constitution in 2008 when his second four-year term expires. That is not only his historic responsibility but also his commitment to the people.

  The crux of the constitutional reform process is not parsing terms like "amending" or "creating" the Constitution, but rather, the crux of the matter is the legal procedure that must be followed in order for a new constitution to come into effect.

  President Chen has made it clear in his inauguration speech that the procedure for constitutional reform first requires the passage of the constitutional amendments by the legislature.

  Members of the first and also the last ad-hoc National Assembly would then be elected and charged with the task of adopting the constitutional reform proposal as passed by the legislature. They would also abolish the National Assembly and incorporate into the constitution the people's right to referendum on constitutional revision.

  Of course, it will require a lot of public discussion and debate before the procedure and context of the Constitution are finalized.

  TT: While President Chen has vowed that the new constitution will not deal with changes relating to sovereignty and territory issues, nor independence and unification issues, what in the Constitution do you think desperately requires overhaul?

  Yao: There are three major areas: the national moniker, national boundaries and government structure.

  The restructuring of the government organizations is the most urgently needed and requires public discussions. Main issues include whether to cut the five-branch government to three, whether to revoke the semi-presidential government system and to adopt the parliamentary or presidential system, and whether to downsize the number of legislative seats from the current 225.

  The definition of national boundaries in the Constitution reads: "the territory of the Republic of China according to its existing national boundaries shall not be altered except by resolution of the National Assembly." It is vaguely defined, but one thing is definite: it is unrealistic to claim that the nation's boundaries cover China, Tibet and Mongolia -- as the KMT did over the past 50 years.

  The official name of the country has to be distinguished from the name the Beijing government adopts (the People's Republic of China) and the name the KMT administration used (the Republic of China).

  If we continue to use Republic of China as the national moniker, Taiwan will be considered part of China, because it claims sovereignty over Taiwan.

  TT: Do you think Taiwan should be called Taiwan?

  Yao: Absolutely. Either the Republic of Taiwan or Taiwan is better suited than the Republic of China. The name "Taiwan" is widely used by many foreign countries and has appeared in diplomatic accords and international organizations such as the WTO and the US' Taiwan Relations Act.

  TT: You talked earlier in the interview about the government system. Do you think a presidential system or a parliamentary system is better for Taiwan?

  Yao: Definitely the presidential system. As the president is the highest administrator of the nation, the Executive Yuan, the highest administrative organ of the state, should be abolished, as well as the Examination Yuan. It would then leave the government with three branches: the Legislative Yuan, the Judicial Yuan and the Control Yuan.

  TT: President Chen was elected to his second four-year term amid controversy. What challenges do you think lie ahead for him?

  Yao: Like national leaders around the world, President Chen is duty-bound to stabilize the nation's economic and political situation. It is equally important for him to improve diplomatic ties with foreign countries, especially the US. In fact, President Chen has been spending a lot of time and effort pondering how to better relations with the US, through both the US government and non-governmental organizations.

  How to ameliorate cross-strait relations is another demanding challenge. It would still be very difficult to resume talks with Beijing, because it is expected to insist on our knuckling under and accepting the "one country, two systems" premise before agreeing to hold talks.

  Finally, there is constitutional reform. President Chen has to fulfill his promise to hand a new version of the Constitution to the people when his tenure expires in 2008.

  TT: As a former DPP chairman, what do you think of President Chen's recent talk of relinquishing his other job as the party chairman?

  Yao: I've always been opposed to the idea of having the head of state double as the party chairman.

  I was one of the few party members vehemently against the idea two years ago, when the party's National Congress voted to revise the DPP Charter to have the head of state lead the party when it is in power. My reason was simple: party affairs should be separated from national affairs because they are different in the nature.

  It later turned out that I was right. It's the correct decision for President Chen to step down. He took the party's helm two years ago for a particular reason, which was to act as the commander-in-chief for the party and the legislative caucus, who often clashed in their opinions and stances. Now since the problem has already been solved, it's time for him to concentrate on the nation's affairs and let party members elect the party chairman.

  In addition, the position of party chairman should be made full-time, since it requires a tremendous amount of time and dedication. We've seen how political functionaries concurrently holding an additional job in the party neglect their duties. Some of them even do it to raise their political profile. It's absolutely not conducive to the interest of the party.

  TT: Beijing has insisted on the "one China" principle, while Taiwan said that it can be a topic for discussion on the negotiating table, but not a precondition for cross-strait talks. How do we solve the long-standing cross-strait stalemate?

  Yao: There's no way for us to accept the "one China" principle. To accept the "one China" principle is tantamount to accepting the "one China, two systems" model. It's equivalent to surrendering without putting up a fight. It's unnecessary and impossible for us to sell ourselves into slavery for China.

  There's no reason whatsoever for us to concede to China's demands. Besides, not a single country in the free world has asked us to do so. While it is the consensus of the international community to maintain the "status quo" across the Taiwan Strait, it would be changing the current situation should we accept the "one China" principle.

  As it will take effort on both sides to ease the tension across the Taiwan Strait, it doesn't make sense -- nor is it fair -- for Beijing to ask us to make such a unilateral concession. Although China is a big country, it has its own burdens and plights. It may be a gigantic dinosaur, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it can outrun a small mouse.
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