Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) yesterday said that it would likely be impossible to promote reforms that would allow the president to double as premier, despite having proposed the idea only a day earlier.
In a Television Broadcasts Satellite interview on Wednesday, Han was asked how he would address the problem of the president having great power without needing to answer to the legislature.
Han said that the president could double as premier and answer directly to the legislature.
Photo: Chen Chien-chih, Taipei Times
“Whether that would happen I cannot say, because that is something experts on the Constitution need to consider, and there is probably a long way to go before we would reach that hypothetical phase,” he added.
The remarks apparently contradicted his earlier statement that, if elected, he would govern the nation from Kaohsiung and meet with the premier once a week.
Asked by reporters to explain the proposal during a recess at the Kaohsiung City Council, Han said: “At this moment it is probably not possible to promote such a system, but the issue could re-emerge many years later when the Constitution is discussed.”
A president who also serves as premier would ensure that they are supervised by a body that is equally as powerful, he said.
He said that he had expected criticism over the issue, but added that the idea is worth considering.
“It is unconstitutional for the president to double as premier,” former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) said in a radio interview with Broadcasting Corp of China’s News Radio.
The fact that both Han and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) have proposed reforming the political system shows that it is flawed, he added.
He said he personally supports a parliamentary system and believes that the president should report to the legislature.
Under the current system, the premier is like a CEO who must always claim responsibility for failed policies, while a parliamentary system would create more stability, he added.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) also expressed support for a parliamentary system.
Although reform would be difficult, “if elected president, as long as there is a consensus among the public on the issue, I am confident that I could ensure the passage of the constitutional amendment in the legislature,” Wang said.
Gou told reporters while visiting a Taitung steel plant that he would follow through with reform if elected, as many others have abandoned the idea after becoming president.
“I will say this now publicly: If elected, I will define the duties of the parliament and the president within two years of my presidency and I will follow those rules myself,” he said.
Asked to comment on Han’s remark that the president could double as the premier, Gou asked: “What would happen if someone wants to be the president, premier and mayor all at once?”
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that amending the Constitution would have major implications and needs to be approached with prudence.
She made the remark in response to reporters’ requests for comment on Han’s suggestion, as well as his claim that the Democratic Progressive Party is “against anything Han.”
She urged Han to focus on governing Kaohsiung.
“After all, Mayor Han is the mayor of Kaohsiung... I would like to tell Mayor Han that the president of Taiwan is Tsai Ing-wen,” she said. “So leave presidential matters to me. He can focus on city affairs and provide clear answers to questions at the city council.”
“First, you want to be Kaohsiung mayor, then you want to be president and now you also want to be premier,” former premier William Lai (賴清德) said at a meeting with young Miaoli farmers.
A presidential system is underpinned by the three branches of government, while in a parliamentary system, the Cabinet and the legislature act as one, he said, adding that mixing the two would make the nation’s political system “neither fish nor fowl.”
Additional reporting by Chen Chien-chih and Peng Chien-li
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