Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) yesterday said that he supports a parliamentary system and would promote legislation allowing legislators to double as Cabinet members if elected president.
Gou made the remarks at a news conference at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) before embarking on a three-day trip to eastern Taiwan to gain a better understanding of local industries and economic issues.
Taiwan’s current political system gives the president too much power and is something in between a semi-presidential and a parliamentary system, he said.
Photo: Chang Tsun-wei, Taipei Times
Under this system, “the president has power, but does not have to take responsibilities or answer to the legislature, while the premier has no power, but must take responsibility,” Gou said.
He said that he supports a parliamentary system and would promote legislation on parliament’s role, including allowing competent legislators to double as ministry heads, within two years if elected.
A white paper outlining his platforms is to be released when the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential primary officially begins next month, he added.
Asked about Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-Yu’s (韓國瑜) plan to run the nation from Kaohsiung if elected president, Gou said that the president’s work location should be chosen based on efficiency.
US President Donald Trump had wanted to work from New York, but still moved to the White House in Washington, as that is the country’s administrative center, Gou said.
If the president lives too far away from the administrative center, it would slow down the government’s work, he added.
Han yesterday reiterated that his plan to run the nation from Kaohsiung would improve the economic development of the nation’s south.
Asked if the plan would create security issues, Han said that the city has military bases.
“There would not be any security issues at all,” he said.
“Even if there were attacks targeting the head of state, the president and vice president would not be in the same place,” Han said, adding that the vice president would remain in Taipei.
Any questions about security are of lower importance than improving the economy, he said.
“The key is whether we want Taiwan to have a more balanced economy and whether we want Taipei and Kaohsiung to become the twin cities that would bring new momentum to the nation,” he added.
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