Perils of a powerful legislature - TW

Sunday, May 16, 2004,Page 8

On Thursday, the Legislative Yuan's efforts to pass a constitutional amendment for congressional reforms experienced a setback due to an unexpected provision in the bill submitted by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People's First Party (PFP). The Taiwan Solidarity Union Party (TSU) refused to support the bill because the provision gives the Legislative Yuan the power to impeach the president with the votes of two-thirds of its members.

The original language of the provision in the bill had said that the president may be impeached upon petition by the congress with the Council of Grand Justices and a verdict entered by the Constitutional Court. Not every presidential form of government follows the US system in vesting such an enormous power solely in the legislative branch -- for example, in South Korea the Constitutional Court must reaffirm impeachments by Parliament within 6 months. No consensus has been reached within Taiwan as to whether the "semi-presidential" form of government should be changed into a purely "presidential" system. A decision needs to be made first in that regard before all the associated supplemental mechanisms can be incorporated into the Constitution to ensure proper checks upon and balances of government powers, including possibly limiting congressional power to impeach the president.

On the other hand, in considering whether to grant such power solely to lawmakers, one must keep in mind Taiwan's unique political culture. Against a backdrop of political polarization and strong emotions, Taiwan's Legislative Yuan -- or, more precisely, the pan-blue opposition parties -- is unlike the legislature of almost any other country in terms of how far it will go to attack the ruling party and the president, regardless of the price this country may have to pay as a whole. One simply does not have the confidence that these politicians will use this power sparingly and cautiously.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/edit/archives/2004/05/16/2003155715

What happens when you have an immoral and corrupt Legislative and Judicial Branch at the same time like we do in American now?