Amid continuing controversy over the “September political strife,” a number of legal experts yesterday issued a joint statement accusing President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of using his status as the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) chairman to bypass the constitutional boundaries of presidential authority.
The statement, titled President Ma overstepping the constitutional red line: A group of legal academics’ collective opinions on the president’s interference in the self-disciplined legislature, was endorsed by a 36 legal specialists, including National Taiwan University law professors Yen Chueh-an (顏厥安) and Chang Wen-chen (張文貞).
“While the legitimacy of Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming’s (黃世銘) and the Special Investigation Division’s handlings of the case of alleged illegal lobbying brought against Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), and whether Ma’s role in the case constitutes manipulation of the investigating agency, are yet to be determined, Ma’s dealings with the incident have blatantly violated the doctrine of separation of powers, and jeopardized the constitutional order of this free and democratic country,” the statement said.
The statement accused Ma of using his power as KMT chairman to forcibly manipulate the party into revoking Wang’s party membership and stripping him of his status as a KMT legislator-at-large, in an effort to fulfill his ultimate goal of having someone else lead the legislature.
Wang’s party membership was revoked on Wednesday last week by the KMT’s Central Evaluation and Discipline Committee for his alleged illegal lobbying for Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in a legal matter.
Wang then filed a provisional injunction with the Taipei District Court seeking to retain his KMT membership and rights. The court ruled in his favor on Friday.
In a move believed to have been initiated by Ma, the KMT on Monday brought the case to a higher court, which is expected to hand down a ruling today.
The statement said that although a president was permitted to double as the chairman of a political party, there was no such thing as “being the president one minute and the next minute, not” while he or she was still in office.
“In other words, presidents will never be allowed to do what they are constitutionally forbidden from doing just because they say they are acting in their capacity as a party chairman. Otherwise, they would be able to bypass the boundaries set for them by the Constitution simply by switching back and forth between the two positions,” the statement said.
The statement added that maintaining legislative self-discipline was an integral part of the principles of separation of powers, and that it should be the mandate of the legislature to investigate and punish its members who had crossed the moral boundaries.
“The adherence to the principle of legislative self-discipline is an indicator of whether a nation is a constitutional democracy or a one-party totalitarian regime,” the statement added.
While calling on the legislature’s Discipline Committee to subject the alleged illegal lobbying case to the severest scrutiny, the statement urged Ma to refrain from interfering in matters covered by the legislative self-discipline principle and from encroaching on the core area of the legislature’s rights.
Ma should have avoided interfering in the KMT’s deliberations on the fate of Wang to maintain the separation of powers, but instead he held several press conferences calling for Wang’s removal from the legislative speakership, saying that Wang was no longer fit to fill the position, the statement said.
Ma also made the same call at a meeting of the KMT’s disciplinary committee that revoked Wang’s party membership, which was sufficient to prove that he had overstepped his constitutional authority, it added.
The statement concluded by calling on members of the public to face up to the difficult challenges facing the nation’s constitutional system, while urging competent agencies to immediately restore the constitutional order.
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
The US Department of State on Monday reaffirmed that US policy on Taiwan remains unchanged, following US President Donald Trump’s use of the term “unification” while commenting on recent trade talks with China. Speaking at a wide-ranging press conference, Trump described what he viewed as progress in trade negotiations with China held in Geneva, Switzerland, over the weekend. “They’ve agreed to open China — fully open China, and I think it’s going to be fantastic for China. I think it’s going to be fantastic for us,” Trump said. “I think it’s going to be great for unification and peace.” Trump’s use of the
RSS