Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) — who once endured the hardship of living under an authoritarian political system and arduously led a quiet revolution — once said: “Democratic issues must be solved with democratic means.” Today, as Taiwanese are faced with the malicious subversion of our country’s democratic constitutional order, we must not panic. Rather, we should start by taking democratic action to rescue the Constitutional Court.
As Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) leads the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) in strangling Taiwan’s judiciary and depriving individuals of the right to recall and development, Taiwanese are filled with anxiety. In response, various countermeasures have been proposed — the Executive Yuan could refuse to countersign, President William Lai (賴清德) could refuse to promulgate the law, a constitutional interpretation could be conducted but not a review, Lai could personally step in to negotiate internal disputes or a mass recall movement could be initiated.
Lai declared at the first opportunity that, to uphold the constitutional order, he would use democratic means to address recent legislative actions that deviate from democratic principles. Therefore, tactics like refusing to countersign and refusing to promulgate or review the law contravene the constitutional order and are unacceptable.
So, what democratic means would safeguard Taiwan’s democratic constitutional order?
On Tuesday, as if acting as a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) agent, Fu led KMT and TPP legislators in blocking all seven of Lai’s judicial nominees. Under their malicious reforms, the Constitutional Court would be left in a dysfunctional state. This not only revealed their intent to strangle the very core of Taiwan’s democratic constitutional order, but — even more frighteningly — resembled a legal “democratic coup.”
As Taiwanese face this “democratic coup,” we must abide by the democratic constitutional order to strengthen our democratic immunity.
We must support the DPP’s legislative caucus and the Judicial Yuan — the opposing party in the disputes caused by the KMT and TPP’s malicious amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法). In accordance with the rights protected under the constitution — separation of powers and judicial independence — both should immediately file suits for a constitutional review and temporary relief.
As Fu and other KMT and TPP members’ self-serving legislation contravenes the principles of democratic electoral agreements and the people’s right to recall, the Executive Yuan should respond with proper constitutional procedures. After Lai promulgates the law, it should file for reconsideration, a constitutional review and temporary relief.
With regard to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法), Fu and other KMT and TPP members are fabricating fiscal disputes between the central and local governments to destabilize Taiwan’s governance and create political division. This would lead to the disproportionate allocation of resources to city and county governments.
To handle this crisis — and before launching a mass recall movement — Taiwanese must unite and combine our efforts to save the Constitutional Court. This is the foundation for safeguarding Taiwan’s democratic constitutional order.
Chen Tsai-neng is a doctoral candidate at National Chung Hsing University’s Graduate Institute of International Politics.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
China has not been a top-tier issue for much of the second Trump administration. Instead, Trump has focused considerable energy on Ukraine, Israel, Iran, and defending America’s borders. At home, Trump has been busy passing an overhaul to America’s tax system, deporting unlawful immigrants, and targeting his political enemies. More recently, he has been consumed by the fallout of a political scandal involving his past relationship with a disgraced sex offender. When the administration has focused on China, there has not been a consistent throughline in its approach or its public statements. This lack of overarching narrative likely reflects a combination
Behind the gloating, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) must be letting out a big sigh of relief. Its powerful party machine saved the day, but it took that much effort just to survive a challenge mounted by a humble group of active citizens, and in areas where the KMT is historically strong. On the other hand, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) must now realize how toxic a brand it has become to many voters. The campaigners’ amateurism is what made them feel valid and authentic, but when the DPP belatedly inserted itself into the campaign, it did more harm than good. The
For nearly eight decades, Taiwan has provided a home for, and shielded and nurtured, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). After losing the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the KMT fled to Taiwan, bringing with it hundreds of thousands of soldiers, along with people who would go on to become public servants and educators. The party settled and prospered in Taiwan, and it developed and governed the nation. Taiwan gave the party a second chance. It was Taiwanese who rebuilt order from the ruins of war, through their own sweat and tears. It was Taiwanese who joined forces with democratic activists
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) held a news conference to celebrate his party’s success in surviving Saturday’s mass recall vote, shortly after the final results were confirmed. While the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) would have much preferred a different result, it was not a defeat for the DPP in the same sense that it was a victory for the KMT: Only KMT legislators were facing recalls. That alone should have given Chu cause to reflect, acknowledge any fault, or perhaps even consider apologizing to his party and the nation. However, based on his speech, Chu showed
RSS