Germany’s Weimar Constitution originated the semi-presidential constitutional system and was used as a reference for the drafting of the Republic of China’s Constitution.
Under the Weimar Constitution, the president, who is directly elected by voters, does not directly lead the government’s bureaucratic affairs, but is expected to lead the country and resolve constitutional crises in national emergencies or constitutional deadlocks.
It is because the directly elected president was seen as a symbol of the whole country, while the members of the legislature could only represent the will of their constituency or party. Even if individual members of the parliament formed a majority, they were still subject to the supervision of national sovereignty.
Therefore, if a major event occurred in the country, the president could issue an emergency order of constitutional status. When the government encounters an irreconcilable constitutional deadlock or conflict, the president could exercise their role as the highest political judge. They would use the power enshrined in the Weimar Constitution to weigh the political situation and resolve the conflict by exercising constitutional powers such as dissolving the parliament or launching a referendum.
In Taiwan, when the 11th Legislative Yuan was elected last year, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party formed a coalition as a majority in the legislature.
Their moves, such as passing controversial amendments to the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Power (立院職權行使法), the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法), the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法), the Police Personnel Management Act (警察人員人事條例) and proposing to slash 6.6 percent from the government’s total budget, are aimed at restricting and paralyzing the executive and judicial branches.
Even though the Executive Yuan said the amendments were difficult to implement and filed a motion for reconsideration in accordance with the Constitution, it was soon rejected by the majority of the Legislative Yuan. That is the kind of constitutional deadlock addressed in the Weimar Constitution, and the president is urgently required to bring the dispute to the higher sovereignty — the people — to make a decision.
Unfortunately, the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China (中華民國憲法增修條文) restricts the president’s power to dissolve the legislature. The president has no power to dissolve the Legislative Yuan, and can do so only after the legislature passes a motion of no confidence in the premier. Therefore, the only way to change the controversial bills is to initiate a referendum, which lacks the authority at the constitutional level.
Ming Yang is a civil servant with a master’s degree in law.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
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