A recent survey indicates that 56.5 percent of Taiwanese favor changing the governmental system from a presidential system -- in which the president has authority over the government -- to a parliamentary system -- in which the legislature is the dominant authority.
In the opinion survey, conducted by the Taiwan Thinktank earlier this month, 1,088 respondents over 20 years of age answered questions about their attitude toward constitutional reform.
The results of the poll were released yesterday.
Only 19 percent of respondents said they supported a presidential system. Fifty-six percent said the nation should pursue a parliamentary system.
Constitution Reform Alliance Chairman Allen Houng (
However, among those who favored a parliamentary system, close to 62 percent said the nation's leader should still be directly elected.
Houng said the results could indicate that Taiwanese desire a "symbolic leader."
Chen Ming-tong (
Sixty-one percent of respondents also said that the nation's territory only included Taiwan proper, the Penghu Islands, Kinmen and Matsu, while 22.5 percent considered China and Mongolia part of the country's territory.
Chen said the poll result showed that most Taiwanese were pragmatic about territory issues.
However, he said it would not be appropriate for President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to pursue an official change of territory in the Constitution because, in his inauguration speech three years ago, the president promised only to pursue constitutional reform in the interest of promoting government efficiency.
Seventy-six percent of respondents said that Taiwan belonged to the 23 million Taiwanese, while only 15 percent said Taiwan also belonged to China.
"This is a public opinion trend that deserves to be noticed because the results showed that about 70 percent of Taiwanese have a very clear `Taiwanese consciousness,'" Houng said.
"As long as Taiwan decides which political party controls the government through elections, all political parties desiring to take control must take this trend seriously," he said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique