It is imperative that Taiwan comes up with its own constitution soon, as the ROC Constitution is bizarre and outdated, Lee Hung-hsi (李鴻禧), a constitutional expert, said at a seminar held by Taiwan New Century Foundation yesterday. The aim of the seminar was to outline the process for a new constitution.
"It [the Constitution] deviates from international standards, as it does not clearly state whether our government follows a presidential or a cabinet system, nor does it separate government administration from the legislature," Lee said.
Four distinguished international academics attending the seminar agreed upon a systemic process to establish a new constitution for Taiwan. They said that such a process can only be executed by holding a referendum.
"There is a trend in the international community that a referendum should be held to decide on constitutional amendments. The most basic reason for this trend is that the constitution should come from the people," Chen Lung-chu (
Chen Lung-chu added that the highest constitutional power is citizens' participation, which is also the essence of democracy.
Lee questioned the legality of the current Constitution, saying that the ROC Constitution was not a result of the will of the Taiwanese people, and therefore it should not be applicable to Taiwan.
According to Lee, the ROC Constitution was drafted and passed in China between 1936 and 1947. At that time, Taiwan was under Japanese occupation, so technically Taiwan still belonged to Japan when Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) brought the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to Taiwan in 1949.
"Although former president Lee Teng-hui (
Lee Hung-hsi said the process of promoting a new constitution is only feasible if the president is re-elected next year.
"I have known President Chen since he was young, and it has been his long-term wish to push for a new constitution. Therefore, bringing up this issue so close to the election is definitely not a campaign gimmick," Lee said.
Wu Shuh-min (吳樹民), a national policy advisor to the president, said that the current system of education fails to teach students about Taiwan's political history.
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Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
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OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
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