Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) yesterday dismissed fears of a “constitutional vacuum” if there were simultaneous presidential and legislative elections in January.
Jiang told the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee that the transitional period between the election of a new president and the president’s inauguration would not cause a “constitutional vacuum” or “constitutional crisis.”
“The transfer of government or power is a norm in democracies, but the period when a caretaker government controls state affairs is not a constitutional crisis,” he said.
After the Central Election Committee (CEC) decision to hold the presidential and legislative polls together, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) yesterday said she was worried an outgoing president would do something drastic during the period before a successor took office.
Describing the CEC’s decision as “political machination,” Chen said the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is notorious for gerrymandering, including postponing the Taipei County commissioner election and merging or upgrading local regions into five special municipalities.
The political unrest caused by the KMT in the wake of the presidential elections in 2000 and 2004 were other examples, she added.
“I trust Taiwan’s democracy, but I don’t trust the KMT,” she said.
Jiang dismissed Chen’s concern saying she “worried too much,” adding that Chen did not understand Taiwan’s democracy.
While there is no legislation in place to regulate the handover during a transitional period, Jiang said it would be best if a new law could be enacted so the incumbent president would not make any new appointment of government officials, adopt new budgetary plans or introduce major government policies
Until then, there are administrative decrees and constitutional precedents to follow, he said.
DPP Legislator Chien Chao-tong (簡肇棟) said there are four possible scenarios after the January elections: the KMT wins both the presidential and legislative elections; the KMT wins the presidential election, but loses the legislative poll; the KMT loses the presidential election, but wins the legislative poll; the KMT loses both the elections.
The worst-case scenario would be the KMT losing the presidential election, but winning the legislative poll, Chien said, as the country could plunge into political crisis.
Jiang dismissed Chien’s theory as “ridiculous,” saying the US government is functioning well despite disagreements between Democrats and Republicans. He emphasized that politics is all about communicating, negotiating and making compromises.
If the DPP wins the presidential election, but loses the legislative election, Jiang said it would make sense for a DPP president to appoint a premier endorsed by the KMT-controlled legislature.
KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) said even if the two elections are not held together, there would be two months before a new president is inaugurated. It is therefore more important to have a law in place to regulate the handover during the transitional period, 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