Tue, Sep 26, 2006 page3

• Amendment call gets tepid response

  NOT AGAIN The president's call for more constitutional change on Sunday was not well received by lawmakers of all colors, who said it was just another diversion tactic

  • By Ko Shu-ling and Shih Hsiu-chuan / STAFF REPORTERS
  • • 
    • 
    • 

  While the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) legislative caucus yesterday acknowledged President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) call to clearly define the country's territorial boundaries and hoped Chen would put his words into action, the pan-blue camp alleged the president was trying to switch the focus from the anti-corruption campaign aimed at ousting him.

  Chen on Sunday urged the public to consider whether it was time to change the territorial definition of Taiwan.

  TSU caucus whip Liao Pen-yen (廖本煙) yesterday accused Chen of using reform in an attempt to divert public attention whenever he suffered from a low approval rating or when elections were near.

  "He, however, forgets about all of his promises when the elections are over," Liao said.

  While Chen could have changed the territorial definition of Taiwan a long time ago, Liao said that he had waited until he was embroiled in a political crisis.

  "There are so many things he could have done and they could be done without amending the Constitution, but he hasn't," he said.

  Liao said that it was a "ridiculous joke" to claim sovereignty over China, Tibet and Mongolia as the former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration did.

  The nation's territorial boundaries should cover Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and the islets in the South China Sea, Liao said.

  While Chen criticized the seven constitutional amendments passed during the 15 years of Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) presidency for making the Constitution "a hideous mess," Liao said that the seven constitutional amendments were "not satisfactory, but acceptable."

  "Chen would not have become president if the Constitution had not been revised seven times," he said.

  berated

  TSU Legislator Tseng Tsahn-deng (曾燦燈) agreed, berating Chen for talking about the name change for years but going back on his promises.

  Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday voiced differing opinions on the issue.

  DPP caucus whip Yeh Yi-ching (葉宜津) said that both the ruling and opposition parties needed to reach a consensus on the issue if the administration wanted to see any constitutional reform succeed.

  "We need to face reality but we must refrain from taking any provocative action," she said. "We do not need to emphasize the territorial issue, but we must ensure that Taiwan is an independent, sovereign state," DPP Legislator Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) said, adding that the problem of territorial definition was there, but the administration did not necessarily need to deal with it now.

  Since President Chen has said that constitutional reform must come from the bottom up, Cheng said he hoped Chen would not insist on pursuing the issue and try to dictate the process.

  As the change of territorial definition was politically sensitive, Cheng said that it would be a better idea to postpone it this time around and focus on less sensitive issues such as the system of government.

  DPP Legislator Lin Cho-shui (林濁水) said that Chen's call served as more of a hindrance to constitutional amendment than a help because he gave KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) one more excuse to oppose the constitutional re-engineering project.

  Ma has firmly opposed another wave of constitutional reform since the last constitutional amendments passed in June last year.

  opposition

  Meanwhile, lawmakers from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP) yesterday voiced their opposition to Chen's push. Pan-blue lawmakers said that Chen was trying to shift the public's focus.

  "Chen's support rate stood at 81 percent during the first few months of his presidency in 2000, and now the rate is down to 13 percent. If he was unable to pursue the issue in 2000, why can he now?" KMT Legislator Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) said.

  PFP spokesman Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said that the party would paralyze the operation of the legislature if Chen insisted on touching upon sovereignty issues.

  "As the move would increase cross-strait tension and damage US relations, the party will use all means to try and prevent it from taking place," Lee said.

  Meanwhile, Shih Ming-teh (施明德), the leader of the campaign to oust Chen, addressed the anti-Chen protesters that the move would only "facilitate Chen's downfall."

  "Chen has racked his brain to defend his presidency. However, manipulating the issue of independence versus unification is like drinking poison to quench one's thirst," Shih said.

  He said that the current description of the country's territory under the Constitution has great flexibility in explaining the country's domain and thus satisfies people standing for either "Taiwan independence" or "unification with China."

  "Considering the dispute over the independence versus unification issue, it's not wise to alter the description of the nation's territory," Shih said.
• Most Popular

  • 1

    Taiwan to produce more than 1,200 new missiles

  • 2

    Taiwan in tsunami threat zone after major earthquake in Philippines

  • 3

    HSBC doubles down on Taiwan

  • 4

    Marijuana driving rule change planned

  • 5

    University president apologizes for remarks