Despite constant criticism, the Presidential Office and the Cabinet have agreed to open Taiwan’s IC design industry to Chinese investment. To avoid hurting the campaign of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫), the opening is to take place between the presidential election on Jan. 16 and the presidential hand over on May 20 next year. All the nightmares of the long window between the elections and the transfer of power will come true.
Ma once told the media that many things that still need to be done, and that there is no “caretaker government” or “lame duck president” issue.
He has even said that he would “hit back” to reverse the unfavorable situation.
Terrifyingly, Article 36 of the Constitution stipulates: “The president shall have supreme command of the land, sea and air forces of the whole nation.”
Judging from Ma’s character, there is a possibility that he will act out of spite in reaction to his serial humiliations.
In response to these potential constitutional disasters, the Democratic Progressive Party has proposed regulating the presidential transition process in law. However, the first draft bill for regulating the presidential transition process to pass the legislature’s initial review was proposed by the KMT. The bill was proposed after Ma was elected in 2008 in order to prevent former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) from not handing over the duties properly. Although it did not pass the final review, it has become a template for how the pan-blue and pan-green camps try to prevent each other from not handing over power properly.
The KMT draft stated that soon after a new president is elected, the incumbent president should freeze all major personnel appointments and transfers, as well as new major policies and budgets. It also stated that new major policies and budget items should be decided by the president-elect.
At first look, these suggestions seem to have hit the mark, but such restrictions on the incumbent president’s power do not make any sense, and the reason is simple: The Constitution cannot be restricted by law, and that is an iron principle.
However, after new legislators report to the Legislative Yuan on Feb. 1 next year, a government transition act should be a priority. The Chen administration in 2002 commissioned National Chung Cheng University to conduct a study on the legal regulation of government transitions. Reading the study, it is easy to see that the US’ Presidential Transition Act of 2000, for example, merely focuses on how the incumbent administration is to provide files, services, resources and training to an incoming administration, how the latter reimburses expenses to the former and restrictions on political donations. None of the articles involve restrictions on the power of incumbent presidents.
How should the four-month window between election and hand over be dealt with, then? From the perspective of constitutional history, after a constitution operates for a while — whether it is a written or an unwritten one — precedent becomes an important element in constitutional operations.
A president is not an insignificant official and it is not necessary to regulate all of the president’s actions. A president’s historical position is usually decided by whether he or she can establish good constitutional precedents for future generations. During the transitional period, Ma should restrain himself and publicly pledge that: “I am about to leave office, and these issues are for the next president to decide.”
This is Ma’s last and most critical opportunity to get a positive historical evaluation.
Christian Fan Jiang is deputy convener of the Northern Taiwan Society’s legal and political group.
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