As usual, the last day of the legislative session saw many bills being approved at the last minute -- among them the Organic Standard Law of the Central Government Agencies (
Although it had been a campaign platform and the intention of President Chen Shui-bian (
In view of the way that the pan-blues have been harassing the Chen administration whenever the chance arises, it is hard to not suspect that they have been cooperative in the downsizing because they saw this as a way to reduce or confine the executive branch's power. This view is confirmed when one takes into consideration how they managed to slip into the draft the provision that requires legislative approval for appointment of the five independent agencies' heads.
Giving such a power to the Legislative Yuan presents several problems. First, the Constitution explicitly gives the president the power to appoint the premier without the approval of the Legislative Yuan. The intention is obviously for the legislature to keep its hands off of nominations and appointments of Executive Yuan personnel. Under the circumstances, it just doesn't make sense that the appointment of the heads of any departments under the Executive Yuan, regardless of whether they are independent agencies, would require legislative approval.
Moreover, this is not a mere issue of unduly enlarging legislative power, but also an issue of a possible violation of the Constitution. Perhaps the pan-blue opposition dislikes the current checks and balances of power between the various government branches -- in particular, between the Legislative Yuan and the Executive Yuan. Yet until a consensus is reached through public debate with respect to the precise form of government that Taiwan should have -- for example, a pure presidential, Cabinet or other type of system -- it is irresponsible to disturb the current system in such piecemeal fashion. Any changes of this fundamental nature concerning governmental powers should be reserved for the comprehensive constitution re-engineering project proposed by Chen.
Quite obviously, the fact that the pan-blues currently enjoy a legislative majority and their continued refusal to accept the outcome of the presidential election -- casting the blame in part on the Central Election Commission -- had been what prompted them to push through a bill containing such a provision.
It is irresponsible for any political party or lawmaker to support any bill for reasons such as these. In enacting any law, they should be thinking about the long-term impact it could have on the government or the nation as a whole.
After all, what happens when the pan-blues come into power or no longer enjoy a legislative majority, which is a realistic possibility in view of their recent behavior?
Will they regret their actions and try to amend the law again then?
Because much of what former US president Donald Trump says is unhinged and histrionic, it is tempting to dismiss all of it as bunk. Yet the potential future president has a populist knack for sounding alarums that resonate with the zeitgeist — for example, with growing anxiety about World War III and nuclear Armageddon. “We’re a failing nation,” Trump ranted during his US presidential debate against US Vice President Kamala Harris in one particularly meandering answer (the one that also recycled urban myths about immigrants eating cats). “And what, what’s going on here, you’re going to end up in World War
Earlier this month in Newsweek, President William Lai (賴清德) challenged the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to retake the territories lost to Russia in the 19th century rather than invade Taiwan. He stated: “If it is for the sake of territorial integrity, why doesn’t [the PRC] take back the lands occupied by Russia that were signed over in the treaty of Aigun?” This was a brilliant political move to finally state openly what many Chinese in both China and Taiwan have long been thinking about the lost territories in the Russian far east: The Russian far east should be “theirs.” Granted, Lai issued
On Tuesday, President William Lai (賴清德) met with a delegation from the Hoover Institution, a think tank based at Stanford University in California, to discuss strengthening US-Taiwan relations and enhancing peace and stability in the region. The delegation was led by James Ellis Jr, co-chair of the institution’s Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region project and former commander of the US Strategic Command. It also included former Australian minister for foreign affairs Marise Payne, influential US academics and other former policymakers. Think tank diplomacy is an important component of Taiwan’s efforts to maintain high-level dialogue with other nations with which it does
On Sept. 2, Elbridge Colby, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development, wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal called “The US and Taiwan Must Change Course” that defends his position that the US and Taiwan are not doing enough to deter the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from taking Taiwan. Colby is correct, of course: the US and Taiwan need to do a lot more or the PRC will invade Taiwan like Russia did against Ukraine. The US and Taiwan have failed to prepare properly to deter war. The blame must fall on politicians and policymakers