Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
"The president has recognized the constitutional amendments passed by the legislature in the extraordinary legislative session that has just concluded, and we both agreed that this overhaul of the Constitution has significant meaning for the history of the nation's democratic development," Wang said.
Wang was speaking to reporters following the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) weekly Central Standing Committee meeting yesterday.
To expedite the second phase of reforms, Wang said a legislative task force would handle the project after December's legislative elections.
Wang said that he and Chen had spoken privately before Chen embarked on his trip to Central America on various issues, including constitutional reform.
During the talks, Wang said that it was worth investigating if the legislature's right to dissolve the Cabinet should be revoked.
"In response, the president said that he was willing to relinquish the right of the president to dissolve the legislature," he said.
Constitutional amendments in 1997 gave the lawmaking body the power to pass a no-confidence vote against the premier, while the head of state can retaliate if desired by dissolving the legislature.
This set of conflicting powers has been criticized as potentially destabilizing.
Wang also said that the legislature could be empowered to ratify the appointment of the premier.
The 1997 amendments also say that the premier shall be appointed by the head of state -- without necessarily requiring the consent of the legislature.
Regarding which system of government was suitable for the nation, Wang said it still required a period of thorough discussion to decide which one would meet the nation's requirements -- presidential, parliamentary or semi-presidential.
"Hopefully, we'll be able to finish the second phase of constitutional reforms by 2007, one year before Chen's second four-year term expires, as the president wishes to see," Wang said.
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Residents have called on the Taipei City Government to reconsider its plan to demolish a four-decades-old pedestrian overpass near Daan Forest Park. The 42-year-old concrete and steel structure that serves as an elevated walkway over the intersection of Heping and Xinsheng roads is to be closed on Tuesday in preparation for demolition slated for completion by the end of the month. However, in recent days some local residents have been protesting the planned destruction of the intersection overpass that is rendered more poetically as “sky bridge” in Chinese. “This bridge carries the community’s collective memory,” said a man surnamed Chuang
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm earlier today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, in this year's Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am, the CWA said. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) with a 100km radius, it said. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA meteorologist Huang En-hung (黃恩宏) said. However, a more accurate forecast would be made on Wednesday, when Yinxing is
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