Group unveils constitutional proposal

VAGUE: The Constitutional Reform Alliance weighed in on the constitutional reform debate, but said it had not decided between a presidential or parliamentary system
By Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Jan 26, 2007, Page 3

Calling on Beijing and Washington to respect the right of the Taiwanese people to determine their own form of government, the Constitutional Reform Alliance yesterday unveiled its proposal for constitutional change.

Allen Houng (洪裕宏), convener of the alliance, told the press conference that the Chinese government must realize that in a democracy, it is the people's right to push for constitutional reform and that Beijing must look at Taiwan's constitutional re-engineering project from a more positive viewpoint because the campaign is initiated by the people.

Since the US government believes in the same democratic ideals as Taiwan, Houng said that Washington does not have any reason to oppose Taiwan's constitutional reform campaign, which was launched by the private sector.

"We hope the US government and the international community understand that it is our democratic right to seek constitutional reform and that they respect the voice of the Taiwanese people," he said.

The alliance, composed of 52 private groups, has not yet decided whether it is in favor of a presidential or a parliamentary system of government. Houng said the alliance would call a meeting in the near future to decide its stance on the matter.

Once its stance is decided, Houng said the alliance will begin lobbying and collecting signatures from legislators, political parties and opinion leaders.

To avoid controversy, the alliance's proposed constitution includes only vague language on the nation's territorial boundaries, making mention of "the area in which the constitution has power." The proposal would give the public the ability to initiate further constitutional reform, adopt a two-house legislative system and enshrine human rights, including abolishing the death sentence and endorsing same sex marriage.

The draft would also guarantee the rights of Aboriginees by establishing an Aboriginal Assembly and protecting their right to autonomy.

The alliance's draft calls for the adoption of a bicameral legislative system consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives, as in the US system. The House of Representatives would have about 230 seats under a parliamentary system and 200 under a presidential system. The Senate would have 75 seats under both a parliamentary and a presidential system.

Under the alliance's proposal for a parliamentary system, the president would be the chief of state and serve a five-year term. The president would be elected by a college of representatives composed of the Senate, House of Representatives and councilors of counties and cities.

The Senate leader would take over the presidency if the president could not perform his or her duties. If the Senate leader were incapacitated, the head of the House of Representatives would be the next person in line to assume power.

The premier would be the head of the government and be elected by the House of Representatives and appointed by the president. The vice premier and Cabinet officials would be recommended by the premier and appointed by the president.

Under the alliance's proposal for a presidential system, the president would be the chief of state and head of the government. The president and vice president would be elected by popular vote and serve four-year terms.

The vice president would assume the office of the presidency if the president was not able to perform his or her duties or the office was vacant. If both the president and vice president were not able to carry out their duties or their offices were vacant, the head of the House of Representatives would take over the helm. The Cabinet would be appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives.