President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen said it is his hope that by the time he completes his presidency in 2008, he would be able to hand to the people of Taiwan and to the country a new version of the Constitution, "one that is timely, relevant and viable."
PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"This is my historic responsibility and my commitment to the people," Chen said.
Noting that he is fully aware that a consensus has yet to be reached on issues related to national sovereignty, territory and the subject of unification versus independence, Chen stressed in his speech that these particular issues would be excluded from the project of constitutional re-engineering.
Washington welcomed Chen's speech as "responsible and constructive," heaping effusive praise on Chen's olive branch to Beijing and his pledge not to deal with sovereignty issues as he "re-engineers" the Constitution during his second term.
While some analysts and pan-green camp politicians praised his inaugural speech as a conciliatory and practical approach to reality, pro-independence hardliners, such as the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), scorned his blueprint for Taiwan's future. The TSU was unhappy that Chen skipped the issue of name rectification and demarcating the nation's territory when he talked about constitutional reform.
Among the issues mentioned by Chen in his speech that need immediate reform include issues on whether to have a three-branch or five-branch separation of powers and whether to adopt a presidential or parliamentary system of government.
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