The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has criticized Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) dismissal of a shift to a parliamentary system of government, saying that she was once in favor of such a change and that her opposition now might be a political ploy.
When she was running for the DPP leadership last year, Tsai said that “I also support a switch from the presidential system or semi-presidential system to a parliamentary system,” KMT spokesman Yang Wei-chung (楊偉中) said on Tuesday.
The KMT criticism came a day after Tsai told a group of DPP lawmakers that “the parliamentary system is out of the question,” in her first declaration of her position on a KMT proposal to revise the Constitution to allow for such a system.
Tsai based her claim on what she said is mainstream public opinion in which the majority of the public prefers to directly vote for president.
However, Yang said that polls show that 60 to 70 percent of the public would support giving the power back to the legislature to approve the appointment of a premier nominated by the president, which is in the spirit of a parliamentary system.
He accused Tsai of giving greater weight to direct presidential elections than reinstating the legislature’s power to approve a premier appointed by the president.
Tsai’s claim also raises questions over whether “her political calculations supersede her ideals for constitutional reform,” Yang said.
Other critics said Tsai’s opposition stems from her confidence that she will win the next year’s presidential election and that her party will secure more power under the current system than under a parliamentary system.
KMT lawmakers announced on Friday last week a plan to revise the Constitution by giving lawmakers back the power to approve the president’s appointment of a premier as part of a shift toward the parliamentary system.
Taiwan has a semi-presidential system and the president names the premier without having to seek consent from the legislature.
The reforms were introduced amid complaints that the president does not have to answer to the legislature, while the premier must bear the brunt of opposition to major administration policies.
Another view is that the government system should be changed to one in which power is commensurate with responsibility and a parliamentary system is more in tune with such calls, Yang said.
If the DPP insists on opposing the KMT’s constitutional reform proposals, at least it should make a counterproposal, rather than focusing on calculating its political gains, he added.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
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
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
RSS