The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics recently announced that Taiwan's GDP shrank by 2.35 percent in the second quarter -- a new low since the oil crisis of 1975. It also said the economy will contract by 0.37 percent for the full year, the first case of negative growth since the ROC government relocated to Taiwan. Despite these unsightly figures, rising unemployment and a potential economic disaster, the premier and the ministers of finance and economic affairs neither appeared ashamed nor apologized to the public. It was as if nothing had happened.
Since 1997, several amendments to the Constitution, rushed through the National Assembly, have created today's monstrous version of democracy in which a minority president, a minority government and a minority in the legislature can control state power and allocate the people's hard-earned money. What kind of democracy is this?
The people of Taiwan cannot exercise their right of initiative and referendum -- which would have made them the masters of their own future in a more straightforward way -- because these two rights have not been written into law. Although people can indirectly decide their own fate by electing or recalling government officials, the odd "multi-member district, single vote" system used in legislative elections produces "black gold" politics and faction-oriented legislators. The outcome is that the purpose of appointing lawmakers at-large is defeated.
In addition, the high thresholds for recall drives make it difficult to recall the president, vice president or legislators. The people of Taiwan are just like those of England, as described by French philosopher Jean Rousseau: "The people of England regard themselves as free; but they are grossly mistaken; they are free only during the election of members of parliament. As soon as the MPs are elected, the people become slaves."
Have you ever thought about whether the representatives and government officials will map out and implement plans for national development scrupulously? Or do they deliberately get close to the public and use populist language in front of the media to benefit in elections?
The president recently said he was willing to kneel before scholars and local government officials in charge of environmental impact assessments for business projects to demonstrate his sincere desire to slash red tape. If the president acts that way, where is his dignity? Where is the professional dignity of the scholars? Where is the dignity of the legal jurisdiction of administrative agencies?
The Constitution and laws of the land should be the basis on which the nation is governed, but the KMT government distorted the concepts and governed according to the interests of the party and individuals. After the transition of political power, the DPP government moved even further backward and unilaterally announced that it would halt construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (
More than 300 years ago, Koxinga (
Lin Terng-yaw is a professor in the department of law at Tunghai University.
Translated by Jackie Lin
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