President Chen Shui-bian (
"Although the premier deserves praise for resigning before the new legislature convenes, for the benefit of the public the convention should be reexamined in light of recent amendments to the Constitution," Chen said in a five-point response to Chang's resignation letter.
Chen's letter was sent to the Cabinet yesterday, with Chang calling a press conference for 10:30am this morning.
Chang led his Cabinet in resigning on Thursday.
As well as following convention, the Cabinet's resignation was seen as paving the way for Chen to consult with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on forming a new Cabinet.
The new legislature, of which the KMT controls a nearly three-quarters majority, will open on Friday.
Following the KMT's refusal to offer suggestions on the formation of a Cabinet reshuffle, Chen decided to ask Chang to stay on in order to avoid political upheaval.
Instead of accepting Chang's resignation and then reappointing him premier, a practice that had been followed when previous premiers were reappointed, Chen chose to reject Chang's resignation.
Chen cited a constitutional amendment that gives the president the power to appoint the premier without consulting the legislature.
"The 1997 constitutional amendment states that there is no relationship between legislative elections and a premier's term of office. The premier is not obliged to tender his or her resignation after a new legislature is elected," Chen said.
Chen said a 2005 constitutional amendment that lengthened legislators' terms of office from three years to four years in step with that of the president but maintained the difference in the dates of their inaugurations had also influenced his decision.
"If a premier needs to resign twice in the space of three months and 19 days, that is bound to have a negative effect on the government and political stability. We should consider this problem seriously," Chen said.
Chen said that constitutional interpretations No. 387 and No. 419, which stipulate that a premier should tender his or her resignation after the election of a new legislature on the basis that the executive should be responsible to the legislature, were outdated.
"Premier Chang has dedicated himself to official business and performed well. He ought to continue to lead the government," Chen said.
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday gave her full support to Chen's decision.
"I don't think what the president did showed disrespect to the legislature," Lu said when approached for comment.
Meanwhile, at a press conference, KMT caucus whip Kuo Su-chun (
"[Chen] did not want to follow the right path and has taken an unusual step. He thought he was setting a new constitutional precedent, but has he respected constitutional precedents?" Kuo said.
KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (
Wu said Chen wanted Chang to remain in office so that he could campaign for DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (
"[Chen] has put the DPP's interests ahead of the stability of the nation," Wu said.
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