At least four bills that could act as an "emergency decree law" have been proposed by legislators as of yesterday, in reaction to the emergency decree declared by President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) in the aftermath of the 921 earthquake.
But at least one legal expert said yesterday that such a law is unnecessary, unless the Constitution is amended to allow for substantial restrictions to be placed on such decrees.
Partly at the urging of lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties, President Lee issued an emergency decree on Sept. 25, four days after the deadly earthquake which killed more than 2,400 people and destroyed or damaged more than 80,000 houses. The decree took effect immediately, as the Constitution allows, and was later ratified almost unanimously by the legislature.
Soon thereafter, however, opposition lawmakers began complaining that the emergency decree had resulted in an abuse of power by the executive branch. They claimed that the Executive Yuan was taking advantage of the vagueness of the decree and expanding its power without any necessary checks and balances being put in place.
As a counter-measure, opposition legislators have proposed at least four draft versions of a emergency decree law. The most recent has been co-sponsored by DPP lawmakers Hung Chi-chang (
The trio claimed yesterday that to clarify a decree's authority and responsibilities, an emergency law within the boundaries of the Constitution should be passed by the legislature to regulate its implementation.
Legislators Shen Fu-hsiung (
But according to the Constitution, it is not necessary to write a law covering the emergency decree, said Su Yung-chin (蘇永欽), a law professor at National Chengchi University.
"It is not impermissible to have such a law ," Su said "but if it is to be done within the Constitution, there will be no point, as such a law can only regulate administrative formats and procedures, but not anything substantial as to what the government can or cannot do," he said.
If only for means of procedure, current laws are sufficient, he said. An article in the Constitution originally specified that an emergency decree must be preceded by an emergency decree law, but that article was later frozen by an amendment to the Constitution in 1991. The amendment stipulates that the president can issue an emergency decree to deal with emergency situations, without any specification on what should be done except that the decree should be rectified by the legislature.
Thus, it would be unconstitutional if the legislature wrote an emergency decree law that substantially restricts the power the president and the administrative branch of the government, Su said.
Admittedly, it is a legitimate concern that the administrative branch could have too much power under the current Constitution, Su said. However, to address this concern, the Constitution needs to be amended, he said.
As a matter of fact, Lee Wen-chung said, he and his colleagues recognize the constitutional shortcoming, and they called yesterday for an amendment to the Constitution to properly cover the emergency decree.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RSS