Results of the R.O.C.’s Constitutional Reform and Views on the Conclusions Arrived at the National Development Conference
Author: Hsu Ching-Fu
Abstract / Chinese PDF Download
This essay uses the institutional approach to analyze the R.O.C.’s constitutional reform which began in 1987. The author points out the major problems of the Constitution and its Amendments, and states that the former suffers from ambiguity, especially in the power sharing relationship between the President, the Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan. However, the Amendments solved this problem and any potential constitutional crisis was averted. Yet, something was still missing for the Constitution and was not running smoothly. This is the reason why the National Development Conference was summoned. A consensus was finally produced through discussions among the parties in the Conference. The arrived at conclusion became the basis for new Amendments in the future. The most controversial issue discussed at the Conference was whether or not to cancel the provincial autonomy. The author first offers some pro’s and con’s, then supports the necessity of a cancellation, and finally designs a plan to fulfill this conclusion. This east part forms the most valuable part of the essay.