DPP introduces proposal for constitutional amendments

A bill to amend the Constitution has received signatures from 58 lawmakers, successfully crossing the first threshold for ratification. If the bill passes, it would remove mention of the Taiwan Provincial Government, which is already defunct. It would also add a clause that describes the current state of Taiwan''s administrative system, which features six special municipalities. The bill''s authors are from a DPP faction called Taiwan Normal Country Promotion Association. They say the bill does not seek to change Taiwan''s name, flag, or national anthem.

Calling for the normalization of Taiwan, DPP lawmakers stand in a row at this press conference promoting constitutional amendments. Lawmakers in a DPP faction have unveiled a bill that’s garnered half of legislature’s support in just three days. In addition to signatures from DPP lawmakers, the bill has support from New Power Party’s Chiu Hsien-chih and Claire Wang, the Taiwan Statebuilding Party’s Chen Po-wei, and independent lawmaker Freddy Lim.

Chen Ting-fei
DPP lawmaker
Some people are always trying to slap a label on us, always framing this issue in terms of unification or independence. We’d like to clarify to everyone that this is completely unrelated to issues of unification or independence. We are working within the status quo. There would be no changes to the national flag, the national anthem or the name of our country.

Chuang Ching-cheng
DPP lawmaker
The current R.O.C. Constitution has parts that are out of date. It needs to keep up with the times. The inclusion of the six special municipalities in the Constitution would be more in line with the existing administrative system. Not only is this bill in line with what opinion polls show, we will hold public hearings to collect ideas from people across society.

To amend the Constitution, there are high thresholds to scale. First, a bill must be proposed by at least a quarter of all lawmakers. Next, it must be voted on in a session where three-fourths of lawmakers are present. To pass, three-fourths of the lawmakers present must be in favor. After that, it enters a notice period of six months, before being put to a national referendum, where half of voters must vote yes. Because it’s such a lengthy and monumental task, lawmakers say they’ll hold hearings to gather opinions.

Chen Ou-po
DPP lawmaker
Actually, in Yilan County, I’ve already held two discussion sessions on constitutional reform. The people at the events responded very passionately. We also invited lawmakers and experts and scholars to join the discussion.

DPP lawmakers say they have drafted amendments that move toward normalizing Taiwan’s status, while adhering to the nation’s status quo. Lawmaker Chen Ting-fei emphasized that the bill does not touch issues of unification or independence. She said revising the Constitution would improve the welfare of the people and make Taiwan a priority.

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