◎ Fang Yanhui
On this year’s National Day, President Lai Qingde raised an important national proposition in his National Day speech: What kind of country do we want to be? What responsibilities are you willing to take for the world? I believe that as Taiwan is a democratic country governed by the rule of law, this issue must ultimately return to the core values of the Constitution: sovereignty among the people, separation of powers, freedom, rule of law, and protection of basic human rights.
1. Sovereignty lies with the people, which is the unshakable foundation of Taiwan’s democracy.
On this year’s Double Ten Festival, President Lai Qingde raised an important national proposition in his speech: What kind of country do we want to be? What responsibilities are you willing to take for the world? (File photo) This year is also the 30th anniversary of direct presidential election. In 1996, despite the threat of Chinese missiles, the Taiwanese people still bravely walked into the voting booths to achieve direct presidential election. Article 2 of the Constitution clearly stipulates: "The sovereignty of the Republic of China belongs to all citizens." Taiwan has gone through authoritarian rule, martial law, and democratic transformation. The freedoms it enjoys today are the result of the sacrifice and struggle of countless democratic predecessors. They are the hard-won fruits of democracy. Taiwan's future should be decided by the Taiwanese people themselves, and no external force has the right to interfere with the people's choices by force or coercion.
2. Congressional supervision must be constitutional, and political competition cannot override the constitutional order.
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Since President Lai took office in 2024, he has experienced many major constitutional controversies. From the opposition parties proposing a number of unconstitutional bills such as amending the powers of the National Assembly and amending the Constitutional Procedure Code, to the central government's general budget being significantly cut and frozen by the opposition parties, and many personnel bills being vetoed without reason, leading to the crisis of shutdown of the constitutional government, the opposition between the government and the opposition has been triggered. Congress has the power of supervision, but it does not mean it has unlimited power; majority rule is a democratic procedure, but it cannot replace the highest normative status of the Constitution. Although budget and personnel review are the constitutional powers of Congress, deletions, freezes, and vetoes should still have a reasonable basis, and the actual impact on the operation of administrative power and the people's rights and interests cannot be ignored. Executive power must be administered in accordance with the law, and legislative power must also be constrained by the Constitution. This is a basic principle that should be adhered to.
Congress has the power of supervision, but it does not mean it has unlimited power; majority rule is a democratic procedure, but it cannot replace the highest normative status of the Constitution. (File photo) 3. Faced with China’s threats, peace must be based on self-defense
In recent years, China has continued to exert diplomatic pressure, military intimidation and gray zone intrusions on Taiwan, testing Taiwan's national security and democratic resilience. President Lai pointed out in his National Day speech: "Taiwan cherishes peace, but will not give up freedom; Taiwan is willing to communicate, but will not accept being dwarfed." This passage demonstrates the important relationship between peace, defense and democracy and independence when Taiwan faces external pressure. Strengthening national defense is to deter aggression, safeguarding sovereignty is to protect people's freedom, and the democratic system is the most important value foundation for national security. Supporting Taiwan's continued development of armaments to maintain sufficient deterrence and protect the democratic and free way of life and the status quo is a direction that both the government and the opposition should work together to work towards.
4. Protecting democratic Taiwan is the common responsibility of this generation.
The "salt of the ground" symbolizes the firm strength of democracy and self-defense; the "light of the world" represents Taiwan's contribution to the international community with freedom, human rights, technology and kindness. Politics can be competitive and opinions can differ, but constitutional order, judicial independence, national security and people's basic rights are basic universal values and should be jointly protected regardless of political party positions. National Day not only celebrates the country’s birthday, but also reminds us that democracy and freedom are hard-won and require continued maintenance by each generation. Let democracy be the root of Taiwan, let the rule of law be the cornerstone of the country, and let freedom and human rights be the light that illuminates the world.
5. Govern the country steadily, uphold democracy, and let Taiwan continue to move forward on the right path.
Since President Lai Ching-te took office in May 2024, Taiwan has faced many internal and external challenges. Internally, in addition to the aforementioned major constitutional disputes; externally, China continues to challenge Taiwan's national defense security with military intimidation, diplomatic suppression, and gray zone intrusion. However, in the face of difficult situations, President Lai still led Taiwan to overcome challenges and continue to move forward with firm conviction and steady steps. Regardless of economic growth, technology industry, international cooperation, defense resilience, or people's livelihood policies, the government continues to promote them, demonstrating Taiwan's strength to move forward in the face of adversity. Democracy and freedom are hard-won, and they need to be protected from generation to generation. Sovereignty among the people, separation of powers, judicial independence and protection of basic human rights are undeniable constitutional values in democratic Taiwan. Let democracy become the root of Taiwan, the rule of law become the cornerstone of the country, and freedom and human rights become the light that illuminates the world. Let Taiwan move forward firmly on the right path and go further and more steadily!
Strengthening national defense is to deter aggression, and safeguarding sovereignty is to protect people's freedom. (File photo) (The author is a practicing lawyer and Master of Laws)
