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DPP holds televised debate on system of government

"The [blue versus green] division, unfortunately, is a result of such a [presidential]system."

Chuang Suo-hang, DPP legislator

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) held its first televised policy debate yesterday on whether the party should adopt a presidential or parliamentary form of government as part of its plan to amend the Constitution.

DPP Legislator You Ching (尤清), who hosted the debate, said the party hoped to raise public interest in the issue by holding a series of televised policy debates.

In-depth discussions on which system of government we ought to adopt should be held, he said.

On Friday the party released the results of an opinion poll conducted among 1,200 party officials, in which about 76 percent of respondents hoped the party would quicken its pace of constitutional reform, with 67 percent favoring the presidential system.

DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) said that a government in which the president enjoys the most authority ensures better national security and government efficiency compared to other systems of government.

But DPP Legislator Chuang Suo-hang (莊碩漢) said the presidential system easily falls prey to political dichotomy.

"The [blue versus green] division, unfortunately, is a result of such a system," Chuang said.

"Many people said Taiwan needs a strong leader during the process of nation-building in a bid to unite the nation and resist the Chinese threat," Chuang said. "As an academic, I subscribed to that theory in the past, but Taiwan has reached a point where we need to consolidate our democracy."

Chuang added that two opinion polls last year showed that majority of the public preferred a parliamentary system of government.
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