In his speech at the first symposium on national policies held by Taiwan Advocates (
Lee made it clear in his speech that March 18, 2000, marked the start of a new future. In other words, his 12 years in power did not change Taiwan's basic structure because, as chairman of the KMT -- the so-called "foreign political party" -- he "still had to compromise with the old thinking and even be contained by it." Therefore, the localized regime was not formally established until the transfer of political power. What we do know is that, without Lee's 12-year effort of blazing the way through all the difficulties, the localized regime would have faced far more difficulties than it now does.
However, Taiwan has failed to step out of the shadow of alien rule because the Constitution -- like the Incantation of the Golden Hoop put on the head of the Monkey King -- has distanced the people from a peaceful life. Only by "clearing away the demon" can Taiwan truly become a normal country.
Now even the DPP government claims to accept the sym-bol of the ROC, a compromise made under "the backlash and obstruction of the old thinking," as Lee put it. But a different connotation has been given to the name ROC. Lee's past idea of "a Second Republic" basically intends to separate the new ROC from the old one. But if the Con-stitution, whose central theme remains unchanged, is the only target for changes, the spirit of the old ROC will keep haunting Taiwan.
This is why Lee suggested that the Constitution be revised to reflect the current situation. But how difficult will it be to map out such a document? Leaving that aside, when reforms on legislative electoral systems were discussed, Legislator Shen Fu-hsiung (沈富雄) said, "It is impossible." If minor changes to the electoral systems cannot be made, then how could it be possible to revise the Constitution?
Lee called on the people of Taiwan people to shoulder their historical responsibilities. This is the right remedy. The existing Constitution stipulates that people have the rights to "initiative and referendum," which are the keys to decomposition and restructuring. Return these two rights to people so that we can extricate ourselves from the predicament of indirect democracy and draw up a new Constitution.
Chin Heng-wei is editor-in-chief of Contemporary Monthly magazine.
Translated by Jackie Lin
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