Constitutional amendments are not a panacea for the burning issues facing Taiwan, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday.
The priority should be to implement the current Constitution correctly and to deal with livelihood issues, he said.
"I do not oppose constitutional reform, but amendment is not the only way [of solving political problems]. The Constitution was amended two years ago, and it makes no sense to change it again before we have had a chance to put it into practice," he said.
Ma made the comments yesterday after attending a symposium entitled "The Growth of Constitutional Democracy and its Challenges" held by the National Policy Foundation at National Taiwan University.
In his speech entitled "A New Frontier for Constitutional Democracy in Taiwan," the chairman stressed the importance of implementing the Constitution and respecting the spirit of the dual executive system.
"The current Constitution adopts the dual executive system. If the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) wins a majority in the legislature and the KMT wins [the presidential election] in 2008, we will respect the system and nominate a premier who is acceptable to the legislature," he said.
The Constitution is modeled on the French dual-executive system and has undergone seven rounds of amendments since 1991. Under such a system, the president's ability to secure his position through the appointment of a premier depends on whether his party controls the legislature.
The DPP has claimed that Taiwan's system is not a "genuine" semi-presidential system, because it does not empower the president to make a unilateral decision to dismiss the legislature. The president can only do so after the legislature has passed vote of no-confidence against the premier.
Ma said that while it was possible to change to either a parliamentary or presidential system, it was not clear whether this was desirable or not. While governing under the current system might not be easy, the chairman said, seeking cross-party cooperation was part of the "art" of politics.
"No matter what system is in place, the spirit of democracy is to obey the majority while respecting the minority. If we can't keep follow this spirit, no system will run smoothly in Taiwan," Ma said.
Besides criticizing the president and the DPP for failing to put the Constitution into practice, Ma expressed his dissatisfaction with Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng's (
"Last year former KMT chairman Lien Chan (
Certain legislators from both the pan-green and pan-blue camps plan to jointly propose a constitutional amendment that would increase the number of legislative seats from 113 to 164, change the "single-member district, two-vote system" into a "multi-member district" system and adopt a parliamentary system of government.
Wang has voiced his support for the proposal, and said that where the KMT is concerned, the issue should be decided by the party's caucus.
Ma in return declared his strong opposition to the proposal, and dismissed Wang's suggestion.
"The proposal concerns the whole country, and therefore is an issue for the KMT as a whole, not just the caucus. I can't remain silent [on the issue]," he said.
Meanwhile, former premier Frank Hsieh (
"The number of legislative seats could be increased to 144 or 145. On the other hand, the president should not hold actual power and should receive a monthly salary of less than NT$100,000," he said.
"If the public is worried that no one would want to run for president under such a system, I can assure them that I would," Hsieh said.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have