Broadcasting Corp of China chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) yesterday said that if he is elected president, he would push for a parliamentary system of government in his first year in office.
Jaw, a former lawmaker who in 1993 left the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) with several other members to form the New Party, rejoined the KMT earlier this month and has said that he plans to seek the party’s nomination to run in the 2024 presidential election.
At a news conference in Taipei yesterday to discuss his policy recommendations, Jaw said that oversight is the most important part of a democracy.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
“Our system is dominated by the president,” Jaw said.
The president “holds a lot of power, and there are no checks and balances,” he said.
“Although the US’ presidential system has flaws, at least the Congress and judiciary provide certain checks and balances,” he added.
Jaw listed Germany, Japan, Singapore and the UK as examples of democracies with relatively stable politics that have parliamentary systems.
He said that he is not the first person in the nation to propose a parliamentary system.
Different political parties have in the past proposed a parliamentary system while in opposition, but once they win the presidency, they “forget,” Jaw said.
“[President] Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has three years left in office and cannot be re-elected. Why not push for a parliamentary system in that time?” Jaw asked, adding that it would help Tsai leave behind a good legacy.
Describing the parliamentary system as more inclusive, Jaw said that the “winner-takes-all” approach of the presidential system is unfair.
He said he hopes that Tsai would push for the implementation of a parliamentary system, but if she does not, he would promote a parliamentary system in his first year in office should he be elected president.
Jaw said that he also supports introducing absentee voting and giving 18-year-olds full voting rights, calling both “mainstream” policies globally.
He disclosed his proposal for a parliamentary system yesterday because proposals for constitutional amendments are set to be debated at the Legislative Yuan, Jaw said.
However, he later plans to speak on other issues, including cross-strait relations, Jaw added.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
RSS