The announcement by the Executive Yuan that the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四) would be scrapped has caused intense dismay among the opposition parties. Their reactions have ranged from trying to recall the president and vice-president to toppling the Cabinet and impeaching the premier. These gestures have already resulted in social unrest. The recent turbulence in the financial markets clearly reflects the people's deep worries about political developments.
The problem of the plant is by its nature one of public policy, which Taiwan's society should rationally debate and make a choice about whether or not to continue using nuclear power. The KMT, People First Party and New Party, however, have obscured the public policy nature of the issue, opening up a political struggle and even expanding the scope of the conflict to the level of toppling the Cabinet and recalling the president.
Regardless of whether one supports or opposes a given public policy, it should go through a process of open debate, letting the people choose freely for themselves under conditions of unrestricted access to informa-tion. What is regrettable is that here we see the opposition parties uniting to engage in naked political struggle, each for the sake of obtaining benefit for itself.
If the president commits a crime or major moral transgression, then the Legislative Yuan can impeach him, in accordance with the law. Following the revision and amendment of the Constitution, related amendments to the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Law (總統副總統選舉罷免法) still have not been completed. President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) have not committed any impeachable offences -- offences which would constitute major violations of the national interest. Planning to recall the president and vice president solely on the basis of the Cabinet's having raised a plan to scrap the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant is not only completely improper; it is illegal.
A recall of the president and vice-president would be a six month process from the recall motion to a popular vote on the issue and, possibly, a new presidential election. Many problems might arise in that time, including antagonism between ethnic groups and social instability. For this reason, even in the advanced democracies of Europe and the Americas, a recall of the president has never been intiated on the basis of public policy disagreements. Using public policy as a reason for a recall obscures the real meaning of democracy and distorts the principle of constitutional government.
By its nature, a recall of the head of state is highly political. This issue needs to be thoroughly considered, not only from the legal point of view, but also from social and political perspectives. It is not something to be done lightly. In practical terms, even if the president and vice president could be legally recalled -- and their performance since coming to power has perhaps fallen short of people's expectations -- this still certainly does not constitute an appropriate circumstance for a recall.
The question of scrapping the power plant, a policy which the opposition parties oppose, should be returned to the system of constitutional government to resolve the differences of opinion. The way the president and vice president operate, which is the subject of critics' objections, was raised during the election and examined by the voters. Reviving these old issues now makes one suspicious that the president and vice president are the victims of unjustified charges. Furthermore, they have been in office for less than six months. Initiating a recall at this time -- for reasons that are improper, illegal and violate the constitutional safeguards on a politician's term in office -- will create antagonism between the ruling and opposition parties and cause social conflict. It will bring unparalleled harm to society.
In a democratic Taiwan, handovers of power from one political party to another are bound to become routine. If the losing party chooses not to use legitimate methods to win over popular opinion and stage a comeback, preferring instead to indulge in the recall of the president and vice president, then society will never enjoy peace and stability. The democratic experience and economic prosperity that have been built up through many years of hardship in Taiwan and acclaimed by the world will also be destroyed overnight.
Lacking justification for a recall, the opposition parties have expanded the dispute over the power plant, using the political brute force of a hundred and some legislators to cause 23 million citizens to be trapped in a state of anxiety. They placed the interests of their political parties above those of the nation, and magnified differences of opinion about reform into a hostile struggle. This is the depraved conduct of selfish politicians who put their own interests above all else.
There has been insufficient rationality in the debate about the Fourth Nuclear Plant. What is needed is for the news media to exercise their social responsibility, but there are a number of media organizations that have chosen to dance with the politicians. They publish sensational reports and opinion pieces to fan the flames of the dispute, increasing the sense of social instability and political antagonism. This is of no help whatsoever in terms of resolving the problem itself and leads only to more political fighting. The recent change of focus by the mainstream media toward an emphasis on the big picture and a return to rationality in handling the news should be encouraged.
Ku Kuan-min is an advisor to the president.
Translated by Ethan Harkness
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