Taiwan and China are two independent countries, and that is the cross-strait "status quo" which Taiwan is committed to safeguarding, President Chen Shui-bian (
"Over the past 50 years, the `status quo' across the Taiwan Strait has been that on one side, there is a democratic Taiwan, and on the other, there is an authoritarian China," Chen said.
"Neither of the two countries are subordinate to each other, because they are two independent sovereignties. Both sides have their own national title, national flag, national anthem, legislature, judicial system and military," he said.
Chen told a delegation of the British House of Commons' Foreign Affairs Committee at the Presidential Office yesterday morning that his administration was devoted to upholding peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, as well as the "status quo."
Taiwan did not wish to see the "status quo" changed unilaterally, he added.
Chen told the delegation that the constitutional re-engineering project in which the nation was currently engaged was a difficult undertaking.
"Judging from the political situation in the legislature and the social environment, I don't think it will be easy to make constitutional changes, especially when they concern an issue as sensitive as sovereignty," he said.
However, a constitution that is no longer viable, timely and relevant must be amended, Chen said.
The key problem with the Constitution, Chen added, lay in the ambiguity of the government system, which was neither a parliamentary system such as the UK's, a presidential system like that of the US, nor the semi-presidential system practiced by France.
"Our Constitution is none of the above. It is time to make a choice among the three," he said.
No matter which government system is adopted, the issue was worth debating, Chen said.
The government had an open attitude regarding the matter, he added.
A more distinctly defined constitutional system was bound to help the administration better govern the country and upgrade the nation's competitiveness, he said.
Chen said that any constitutional reform proposal would have to conform to the amendment process.
In other words, any proposal would have to obtain the approval of three-quarters of the legislature and then the final consent of 50 percent of eligible voters, he said.
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A tropical disturbance off the southeastern coast of the Philippines might become the first typhoon of the western Pacific typhoon season, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The system lacks a visible center and how it would develop is only likely to become clear on Sunday or Monday, the CWA said, adding that it was not yet possible to forecast the potential typhoon's effect on Taiwan. The American Meteorological Society defines a tropical disturbance as a system made up of showers and thunderstorms that lasts for at least 24 hours and does not have closed wind circulation.
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
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