Referendum on updated preamble to constitution

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) recently announced that he plans to hold a "defensive referendum" at the same time as the presidential election on March 20. This has triggered strong criticism from the opposition pan-blue camp. The US has also expressed its opposition to Taiwanese independence by making less ambiguous statements than it has in the past.

Two odd aspects of this situation stand out.

First, Article 17 of the Referendum Law (公民投票法) stipulates that "when the nation is exposed to an external threat which threatens a change in national sovereignty, the president may, following a resolution by the Cabinet, place matters of national security before the public for decision in a national referendum."

In light of this, defensive referendums are based on the premise of national sovereignty. It is strange that the US opposes a defensive referendum in the same way that it opposes independence. We can conclude that what the US opposes is not a defensive referendum, but the premise of such a referendum -- Taiwanese sovereignty.

Second, therefore, perhaps the threat to Taiwan's sovereignty is not only China's missiles, but also the US' verbal threats.

Taiwan should not just single-mindedly focus on China's threats, but also be conscious of the control exerted by the US' hegemony.

Isn't the US trying to deny Taiwan's sovereignty by threatening inaction -- not selling weapons to Taiwan? No wonder some say that if Taiwan became a state or a colony of the US, perhaps it would spend less money paying taxes to the federal government than it now spends buying weapons.

Chen's hasty proposal to hold a defensive referendum has plunged the pan-green camp's election campaign into a muddle. Though he knows that swing voters hold the key to the election, Chen has lurched to an extreme position.

Perhaps Chen should consider making the preamble of a new constitution the subject of the defensive referendum.

Putting the preamble of a new constitution to a referendum would not be amending the Constitution, nor would it be creating a new constitution. It would be a declaration to open up the political future of the people of Taiwan.

As long as the content of a proposed preamble is appropriate, the pan-blue camp would find it hard to oppose a referendum on the issue. Furthermore, China and the US -- the two big nations that threaten Taiwan's sovereignty -- would not be in a position to say anything against it.

But this move could also become a turning point for creating a new constitution or amending the current one on a large scale.

The preamble to a new constitution might include the following four points:

Taiwan has independent sovereignty and a free and democratic system;

Unification can be negotiated when one day China achieves a certain level of freedom and democratic and economic development;

Changes to Taiwan's status quo should be decided by the people through a referendum;

Taiwanese people need a new constitution to meet their development needs in the new century, and the current Constitution must be frozen.

Given Taiwan's fragmentary sovereignty, these four main points might be the best political plan to guard against threats from China and the US. An overhaul of the Constitution is of great urgency if we set aside electoral considerations and focus instead on Taiwan's future.

Yen Chueh-an is a law professor at National Taiwan University.

Translated by Jackie Lin