Group proposes Taiwanese draft constitution

Taipei, Apr 2 (UNI) A draft constitution which names the country Taiwan and adopts a parliamentary system of the government has been signed by 75 lawmakers and will be proposed to the legislature Tuesday, a civil society group that initiated the draft announced today.

The Constitution Reform Alliance held a news conference to unveil the draft constitution that defines the country's territory asgthe area to which the Constitution is applied,''reporter the Taiwanese Central News Agency (CNA).

The alliance said such a provision contains the concept of 'existing national boundaries', a phrase in the Constitution of the Republic of China, and is in line with existing conditions.

The draft offers no definition of the national flag as the current ROC Constitution does, stipulating that it be defined by statue.

According to the draft, the president of Taiwan is a nominal head of state elected by a presidential recommendation committee and serving a five-year term.

The highest executive body of the state will be the Cabinet, the draft says, with the premier elected by members of the lower house of the parliament and formally appointed by the president.

Given the support of one-third its members, the lower house can put forward a motion of non-confidence against the Cabinet six months after the latter's formation, the draft says.

While the lower house stands as the major body that represents the citizens' sovereignty, a senate is elected by local autonomous bodies and indigenous people to prevent an over-concentration of power in the lower house, the alliance said.

The draft allows for future amendments to the Constitution to be ratified by a relative majority in a referendum.

Hung Yu-hung, General Convener of the alliance, described the draft asga 100 per cent civil society proposalhthat had not been sponsored by any political party.

Our next step will be to meet with political and opinion leaders and make constitutional reform a national movement, hHung said.

He criticized thegSecond Republichdraft constitution o-authored by former Mainland Affairs Council Vice Chairman Chen Ming-tung and unveiled half a month ago for retaining the General Provision of the ROC Constitution.

Trong R Chai, Acting Chairman of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party,at the conference said the parliamentary system mapped out in the draft speaks to the current needs of the country.

The 148-article draft is divided into four chapters: the rights of the people, the principles of the state and the Constitution, the relations between the central government and local bodies, and the enforcement and amendment of the Constitution.

Hung said 75 lawmakers, mostly from the DPP and its pan-green ally, the Taiwan Solidarity Union, will bring up the draft with the Procedure Committee of the legislature tomorrow, and he called on the committee not to block it from being discussed.

UNI