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A coalition government following the year-end elections?
(Taiwan Headlines, 08/28/2001)
Source: The China Post
Democratic Progressive Party Secretary-General Wu Nai-jen speaks to reporters Monday.
pposition parties Monday showed approval for President Chen Shui-bian's plan to organize a coalition government following the year-end legislative election, but differed on whether the president himself, or the biggest party in the Legislative Yuan, should control the process.
The president announced his coalition plan during the closing ceremony of the Economic Development Advisory Council (EDAC) Sunday.
Most opposition parties - the Kuomintang, People First Party and Taiwan Solidarity Union - said they approved of the president's idea.
Nonetheless, KMT spokesman Wang Chih-kang said that the largest party in the new Legislative Yuan should be granted the right to organize the coalition, arguing that, "The president has to show respect in the future to the largest party in the Legislature."
"If he (Chen) fails to respect the largest party!K there will definitely be conflicts between the Cabinet and the Legislature," Wang said. "The president has to clarify whether he supports allowing the coalition Cabinet to be set up by the largest party in the Legislature following the December elections."
As to how best to organize the coalition, Wang said "party-to-party negotiations are a must."
PFP Legislator Chou Hsi-wei Monday said the PFP will cooperate with the ruling and opposition parties in organizing the coalition government.
"The largest party should play the leading role in organizing the new Cabinet in December," Chou said, adding that it would be the only way that would ensure a stable political arena after the year-end legislative election.
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party, however, stressed that organizing the coalition should be the responsibility of the president, not the opposition.
DPP Secretary General Wu Nai-jen said: "The right should be in the president's hands." Citing other countries' experiences, Wu said coalitions in other democratic countries have never been organized by the largest party in the lawmaking chamber.
"If the party of the president fails to take more than half of the parliamentary seats, and if the premier candidate nominated by the president fails to win legislative support, the opposition parties might have a chance to form a coalition."
Stressing that Chen's coalition would try to ensure political stability, Wu said the goal could be unattainable if opposition parties play a leading role.
He predicted that harsh disputes between the Cabinet and the president would be inevitable if Chen handed the right to form the Cabinet to the opposition parties.
TSU Chairman Huang Chu-wen told reporters Monday that the newly formed party "definitely approves of President Chen's plan to organize a coalition government."
Huang said, "A coalition government isn't limited to a coalition Cabinet," implying that members of the opposition parties should have the opportunity to lead other branches of the central government, including the Judicial Yuan, Examination Yuan, and Control Yuan.
The former minister of the interior predicted that none of the political parties will be able to grab a majority in December's legislative election.
In other news, the DPP Monday said that it will attend inter-party talks organized to implement consensus decisions reached at the EDAC.
Tsai Huang-ling, leader of the DPP's legislative caucus, said that the Cabinet should start revising relevant laws within two weeks to turn the EDAC proposals into government policies.
He stressed this should be done with cooperation between parties, and said he anticipates that President Chen will agree to hold a party leaders summit at which controversial issues will be discussed.
The DPP lawmaker also urged Cabinet officials to accept the so-called "1992 consensus," which the opposition says is essential to implementing EDAC proposals liberalizing cross-strait trade.
The "1992 consensus" was allegedly reached by Taipei and Beijing negotiators nine tears ago. Under it the two sides are allowed to embrace their own interpretations of the "one China" principle.
Tsai said that as mainland China has not shown goodwill to Taiwan so far, Taipei had better wait for Beijing's clarification on the "1992 consensus," he said.
Meanwhile, DPP Legislator Lin Feng-hsi said his party supports an EDAC proposal to cut the land-value increment tax.
"Cutting land tax is widely expected by Taiwan's industries and society," Lin said. "It's a serious problem, because the (current) rate is too high, hampering land transactions. If the government cuts the tax, this will boost the real estate market and revitalize the economy," he said.
Tsai Chia-fu, a KMT legislative caucus leader, said that KMT Chairman Lien Chan should arrange a meeting with other parties' leaders to discuss cross-strait relations, the public debt ceiling and tax cuts.
President Chen should participate and clarify his attitude towards the so-called "dual-leadership" system, under which the president and premier co-lead the government, said Tsai.
New Party Legislator Lai Shyh-bao said that President Chen has promised that the government will adopt all the recommendations of the EDAC. He noted, however, that it would be impossible for the government to implement them all at once, so the most important ones should be prioritized, he said.
He pointed out that the Legislative Yuan needs to amend certain laws to realize 43 proposals, so the ruling and opposition camps should begin negotiations immediately to revise these laws in an efficient manner.
Another New Party lawmaker, Levi Ying, said that President Chen first mentioned the "active openness and effective management" policy in January, but conservatives within the DPP could not accept it at that time.
"This policy is now supported by the people, but President Chen still has to be aware of those conservatives who disagree with his policies," Ying said.
The major parties are backing an EDAC suggestion to halve the land-value increment tax for two years to stimulate transactions.
Lai rebutted a claim by Chen Po-chih, chairman of the Council for Economic Planning & Development, that the government is rich enough to afford this loss of around NT$40 billion in revenue each year. He said the government is saddled with a debt of NT$8 trillion, and that he objects to tax cutting policies without conditions.
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