The DPP became the ruling party following its candidate, Chen Shui-bian's
The KMT -- the biggest opposition party with more than half of the seats in the legislature -- has the power to decide whether or not to pass the new government's amendments as well as its budget, and the party has presented Chen's administration with considerable challenges.
The battles between the Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan in the past two months have created chaos. The KMT wants a coalition government to be formed, which would allow the majority party to choose the premier.
Responding to the challenge, both President Chen and former Vice Premier Yu Shyi-kun have pointed out that KMT legislators, who reflect the old public opinion, are still upset about losing power to the DPP, which represents the new voice of Taiwan.
The DPP's strategy, however, of blaming all the problems on the KMT in order to gain public support is inappropriate, perhaps even childish. The DPP should quickly adapt to its new ruling party role and not seek to promote its policies by criticizing or threatening opposition parties. Threats from the president himself or high-level government officials will definitely ruin the relationship between the two yuans and may shut the door on negotiations entirely.
The difficulties encountered by the branches of government are the result of our ambiguous Constitution -- and the debate over whether a presidential, Cabinet-based or semi-presidential system is more suitable for us. Since our political system usually changes depending on the president's wishes and the functions of political parties are often blurred, there are too many factors that make the constitutional system unstable and harmful.
It is debatable whether the conflicts between the executive branch and the legislature can be resolved by forming a coalition government.
The ideal coalition, however, would not be composed of the two biggest parties, the KMT and the DPP. However, a coalition consisting of the DPP, the PFP and the New Party wouldn't work since their policies are so different. Moreover, these three parties combined have less than half the seats in the legislature and the idea of forming a coalition government would be meaningless if they can't control the Legislative Yuan.
The new government, furthermore, is not only facing challenges from the KMT, but also complaints from the DPP's legislative caucus over its miscommunication with the Executive Yuan. In order to ensure that all the amendments and budgets pass smoothly, the Cabinet, led by Premier Tang Fei
The existing political chaos is partly due to constitutional problems and partly due to the lack of communication between the ruling and opposition parties. Both sides should recognize their roles and duties as soon as possible. The DPP should not try to lead the nation by using its old opposition party tricks. The KMT is no longer in power and should stop trying to pretend it is still the ruling party and constantly challenging the new government.
In our next election, Taiwan voters will vote for the opposition parties if they play fulfill their role as effective watchdogs of the ruling party and they will vote for the ruling party if it serves as a good leader. If either party fails to play their part, they will be replaced in the near future.
Tang once described himself as "a rookie hitting the road" in order to gain understanding and support from the KMT. Thus, at this turning point in our country's history, stopping the battles between the ruling and the opposition parties is necessary so that the Republic of China can sail smoothly toward its goal of being a fully modernized country.
Lee Chang-kuei is the president of the Taipei Times.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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