Opinions may differ on whether the president's request to make a state-of-the-nation speech at the Legislative Yuan is constitutional, but most agree that it would be unconstitutional for him to take questions from lawmakers after his speech.
President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen specified that his talk would highlight the US arms deal, the nation's bid for UN membership and cross-strait relations.
The Presidential Office sent a request to the Legislative Yuan on Sept. 27 asking arrangements to be made for the address.
The request for the address and the possibility of questions following it have raised ferocious arguments as to whether the request and the questioning are constitutional and how the address should be delivered.
The pan-green caucuses have made an official proposal that the legislature invite Chen to deliver a first-ever address to the body. Former President Lee Teng-hui (
But after the National Assembly was turned into an ad hoc body and the Constitution was amended two years ago to stipulate the Legislative Yuan as the site for such an address, the section about legislators offering advice was eliminated.
Critics differ as to whether Chen can request to deliver an address, but most agree that questioning was unfeasible and unconstitutional.
"The Constitution is silent on whether the president has the right to initiate such a request, and the president's request to the Legislative Yuan does not have a legal effect; the Legislative Yuan can choose to reject or accept it, so there is no issue of violation of the Constitution," said Tsai Tsung-chen (
Tsai said the right to initiate a state-of-the-nation address could be negotiated between the Presidential Office and the legislature.
But Tsai said that lawmakers do not have a right to question the president or comment after the address, even if the president agrees to this.
"The Constitution stipulates that the premier responds to the Legislative Yuan, so the premier needs to report to the Legislative Yuan and be questioned by the lawmakers," Tsai said.
"But the president responds to the people, not the Legislative Yuan. When he gives his state-of-the-nation address in the Legislative Yuan, he is in fact just using the Legislative Yuan as a platform to address the people," Tsai said.
"If the president accepts questions from lawmakers, it would violate the Executive Yuan's status as the highest administrative organ of the state as stipulated by the Constitution." Tsai said.
Taipei Society Chairman Hung Yu-hung (
"The president's intention to deliver an address in the Legislative Yuan seems to indicate that he is leaning toward the presidential system. If he gets questioned by the lawmakers, he would seem to be replacing the premier," Hung said.
"But even if our country were run on the presidential system, then we would have a balance between three powers: the administration, the legislation and the judiciary, and the president should not be questioned in this case either," Hung said.
Hung also warned against turning the state-of-the-union address into an election issue.
Hung said that Chen's proposal came amid the administration's unsuccessful promotion of the arms deal with the US, and People First Party Chairman James Soong's (宋楚瑜) declared intention to debate the president on national policies.
"So it is difficult not to link the address with the election. But the two camps are trying to use different issues to manipulate the election, and this is not a good thing," Hung said.
"The prospect of lawmakers debating with the president on an equal basis doesn't seem appropriate. We would rather hope for a more mature government, and a more mature opposition party," Hung said.
National Taiwan University politics professor Ger Yeong-kuang (
He said the president should be wait for an invitation to give such an address and that questions from lawmakers were not acceptable.
"The Constitution stipulates that the premier should be held responsible toward the Legislative Yuan, but if the president gets interpellated by the lawmakers, then why do we need the premier?" Ger said.
"The president had also better differentiate the contents of his address from the one given [to legislators] by the premier," Ger said.
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