A former opposition leader yesterday said that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had promised in 2006, during a series of popular protests against the then-Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration, that he would push for the establishment of a parliamentary system of government if he were elected.
Shih Ming-teh (施明德), a former DPP chairman who has since severed ties with the party, said Ma made the remarks during a visit to his house in 2006, when he led the “Red Shirt” movement against then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
“During Ma’s visit to my house ... he told me that if he were elected [in 2008], he would begin the groundwork for establishing a parliamentary system,” Shih said at an activity to mark his upcoming 70th birthday. “But now, after being elected president, nothing [has changed].”
PHOTO: VINCENT Y. CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Shih’s remarks shed light on some of the political promises that were exchanged as hundreds of thousands of protesters, furious over the financial scandals surrounding the first family, descended upon the presidential office in one of the nation’s largest political protests.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials confirmed in 2006 that Ma, who was also the party chairman at the time, held a meeting with Shih, but denied that any plots or promises were made during the talks. The DPP claimed that Shih’s campaign was driven and financed by figures connected to the KMT.
Ma told reporters in 2006 that he was not opposed to a parliamentary system, but added that political reforms would have to wait until after the legislative elections in early 2008, because the Constitution had just been amended the year before.
Records show that the move, which would strengthen the role of the legislature and the premier, while taking away key powers from the presidency, was also supported by the Taiwan Solidarity Union, while the DPP said it would leave the decision to the public.
“It shows that after a person gets hold of [political] power, and uses it, he forgets all about the promises he once made,” Shih said.
Shih also struck out at Chen and the DPP, accusing the jailed former president of being a “hypocrite” like most Taiwanese politicians, and saying that the DPP was full of “Mr Chens.”
“If anyone asked me, I’d say that the biggest regret in my life was that I didn’t come out to run for president,” Shih said, before apologizing for allowing what he said were a “bunch of weird people” to contest the presidential ballot.
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