Uncertainty persists at the heart of government with the Executive Yuan agreeing to resume construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant
One, the republican form of government might be damaged.
Two, in view of the experience of the French semi-presidential system (
Three, the person who proposed a referendum, the president, would have to be politically responsible for it's result.
In terms of the first of the consequences described above, not all democratic nations in today's world take the form of a republican type of government. The UK, for example, retains a titular monarchy. The US, on the other hand, is a federation of states. The ROC's republican form of government was modeled after the French Republic. The fundamental principle of a republic is to restrain the abuse of executive power by the legislative branch. If the executive branch stands up against the parliament through referendums, not only will republican traditions become empty formalities, but populism will become rampant.
The first elected president of the French Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle, enjoyed strong executive powers. Even in his time, however, the French semi-presidential system never departed from the republican principle mentioned above. Even when the executive power won a public referendum, the president nevertheless had to win over a legislative majority before he was able to implement his policies.
The 1962 amendment to the French presidential election system is considered a classic example. Invoking Article 11 of France's Constitution, de Gaulle proposed a public referendum on direct presidential elections. His proposal was controversial in the following respects.
First, the procedure for amending the Constitution must follow Article 89, rather than Article 11, which de Gaulle invoked. Article 89 stipulates that the initiative to amend the constitution rests with the president, upon the proposal of the prime minister and members of parliament. Article 11 states that the president may submit to a referendum any bill dealing with government affairs, on the condition that the referendum does not contravene the Constitution.
More importantly, political tradition in France has it that a referendum may only be held with parliament's approval. The French government found itself facing a major political crisis, similar to the recent one in Taiwan, as 118 parliamentarians who originally supported de Gaulle switched their positions and supported a no-confidence vote in protest at the violation of the constitution.
On Oct. 5, 1962, the French National Assembly decided by a 280 to 241 vote to censure Prime Minister Georges Pompidou's government. Four days later, on Oct. 9, after Pompidou offered his resignation to de Gaulle, the president dismissed the parliament. In a referendum later, on Oct. 28, voters supported direct presidential elections and de Gaulle's supporters also gained their victory in the parliamentary elections on Jan. 18 and 25, 1963.
Although de Gaulle's act was controversial, he was fortunate enough to win both the referendum and the parliamentary elections, ultimately resolving all the disputes.
The next controversial issue is that of what political responsibility the president should bear if the voters reject a proposal in a referendum. For example, when de Gaulle tried to solve another crisis through a referendum in 1969, the proposed constitutional amendment was not approved. As the proposer of the referendum, de Gaulle earned respect when he said at the end of his resignation speech that he was stepping down in order to accept political responsibility.
If President Chen Shui-bian (
In short, the Executive Yuan's suggestion of a referendum will hinder, rather than facilitate, solutions to the current disputes. The reasons are simple.
One, Chen's government was forced to continue the nuclear project due to a lack of support for its policy in the Legislative Yuan. If the situation persists, it will be impossible for legislators to pass the referendum law. If the Executive Yuan insists on "giving it another try," then they will only compound the confusion.
Two, the French experience suggests that the republican form of government should not be abolished at will. If Taiwan is in favor of establishing its own referendum law in the future, that law should require the Legislative Yuan's approval of any referendum. Otherwise, Taiwan's democratic politics might be threatened by populism, which will be much more dangerous than today's disputes over the power plant project.
Third, learning from France's experience of amending the Constitution, as well as our own experience in the nuclear plant case, to win a majority in the Legislative Yuan is the only way for Chen to carry out his will. Even de Gaulle, with his significant popularity, would not and could not constrain parliament by a referendum at will, and had to step down because of a referendum's result.
Chen and Premier Chang Chun-hsiung
Hu Tsu-ching is an associate professor in the department of political science at Tunghai University.
Translated by Eddy Chang
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, people have been asking if Taiwan is the next Ukraine. At a G7 meeting of national leaders in January, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that Taiwan “could be the next Ukraine” if Chinese aggression is not checked. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that if Russia is not defeated, then “today, it’s Ukraine, tomorrow it can be Taiwan.” China does not like this rhetoric. Its diplomats ask people to stop saying “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.” However, the rhetoric and stated ambition of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Taiwan shows strong parallels with