Whose majority?
Meanwhile, proposals have also been put forward to reform the method of electing the president, and thereby increase political stability.
Hu Fu (胡佛), a professor of constitutional law at National Taiwan University, said that it is necessary to require a candidate to win an absolute majority of the votes to be elected the president.
For instance, Hu said, President-elect Chen Shui-bian (
Hu said a run-off should have been held so that voters had the chance to choose between the top two candidates.
"This can protect the voters' right to vote and prevent the president from having a weak support base, which can prevent him carrying out his policies," Hu said.
Another equally important issue is to restore the checks and balances of the governmental structure, which Hu said have suffered severe damage after six round of constitutional reforms over the past decade.
Hu said that as a result of these reforms, the president is now the head of state as well as the government leader with the most substantial powers.
However, the premier, who is appointed by the president without the legislature's approval, is the one who is accountable to the legislature.
"The president is powerful but not held responsible, but the premier is held responsible but kept powerless," Hu said. "This is against the principles of having checks and balances in a democracy."
To ensure the current governmental structure works, Tsai argued that the critical elements for a semi-presidency must be included in the Constitution, since Taiwan has opted for this system.
In addition to the absolute-majority threshold for a presidential election, the appointment of premier should go through the legislature's confirmation, and the president should be granted the power to dissolve the legislature on a proactive basis, Tsai said.
"A key consideration of this design is not to prevent the legislature from enjoying any ability to paralyze government operations," Tsai said.
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