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Chen agrees to debate with Lien

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday he would accept Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) invitation to debate constitutional reform.

Prior to the closed-door weekly Central Standing Committee yesterday, Chen attacked Lien's three-step plan for constitutional amendments as "absurd" and "mistaken."

Lien announced his plan for constitutional reform last Saturday, proposing a constitutional amendment draft next February and to add a referendum article to the Constitution next May. He said a draft constitution could be put to a referendum to coincide with the legislative elections in December next year.

Chen said yesterday he is willing to hold a debate with Lien to clarify the disputes between the two political camps.

Chen said the KMT's U-turn in supporting constitutional reform is "absurd" because Lien and his running mate for the March presidential election, People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), had realized their public support was slipping and were forced to make a rash decision to support the public's desire for reform.

"Democratic reform is not something you can occasionally join for fun and see how the wind blows. We are happy to see that the KMT and PFP are following in the DPP's footsteps for constitutional reform, but they can't be following it so rashly," Chen said.

He said that Lien was one of the organizers of the past six rounds of constitutional amendments.

"But look at what those amendments have become?," he said.

"Now they have even proposed to make the same constitutional amendments in just a few months' time, using constitutional reform for political trickery. We can't agree with this attitude," Chen said.

According to Chen, Lien's insistence on the "one China" principle would ultimately lead to a "one China" constitution.

Under "one China," Chen said, Taiwan's constitutional status would be similar to that of Hong Kong and Macau, lacking individuality and integrity.

Chen criticized Lien for changing his mind on how to see a referendum through.

Lien had previously advocated a "dual representation" system to revise the Constitution and now proposes using a referendum.

Dual representation refers to allowing the legislature to make the constitutional amendment, which requires approval from 75 percent of legislators, and then convening an ad hoc national assembly to revise the Constitution.

But given the current deadlock in the legislature, Chen said it is almost impossible for the pan-blue dominated body to pass a constitutional amendment.

Chen said he is willing to engage in a debate with Lien to clarify whether the new constitution should reflect his "one country on each side" of the Taiwan Strait framework or a "one China" framework.

He also plans to debate whether to use a referendum or dual representation to revise the constitution.

As for the date and topics of the debate, DPP Deputy Secretary-General Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) said yesterday that Chen has instructed party Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) to contact KMT headquarters to arrange the details.

Lee also played down the possibility of a debate between Chen, Lien and Soong, saying, "We prefer the debate to be between the two presidential candidates."
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