Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0362/03628.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 27KB | 469 lines

$Unique_ID{COW03628}
$Pretitle{263}
$Title{Taiwan
Chapter 12B.  Structure of Government}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{The Director Foreign Area Studies}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{yuan
president
government
legislative
assembly
national
executive
elected
members
provincial}
$Date{1971}
$Log{}
Country:     Taiwan
Book:        Area Handbook for the Republic of China
Author:      The Director Foreign Area Studies
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1971

Chapter 12B.  Structure of Government

     The President of the Republic is the supreme authority in the government.
He governs through the five administrative yuan: executive, legislative,
judicial, examination, and control. The President receives his authority by
being elected to the office by the National Assembly, which is directly
elected by the people (see fig. 4).

The National Assembly

     The National Assembly is composed of delegates elected on the basis of
regional and vocational representation. Each county or municipality elects at
least one delegate. When the population of a county or municipality exceeds
500,000, one additional delegate is elected for each additional 500,000. The
number of delegates to be elected by occupational groups (labor unions,
professional associations, etc.) by racial minorities and by Overseas Chinese
is prescribed by law. The first assembly, meeting in Nanking in March 1948,
numbered 2,961 delegates, out of a total of 3,045 delegates allowable by the
constitutional provision.

     The functions of the National Assembly are to: elect the President and
Vice President of the Republic; act on impeachment procedures of the President
and Vice President initiated by the Control Yuan; amend the Constitution;
ratify constitutional amendments proposed by the Legislative Yuan; and alter
national boundaries. The parliamentary powers, such as those of amending the
constitution and altering national boundaries, combined with the functions of
the Legislative Yuan, make this system somewhat comparable with the
parliamentary or congressional systems of Western democracies.

     The National Assembly is to be summoned into regular session by the
President of the Republic 90 days before the date of expiration of each
presidential term. Extraordinary sessions may be convened under such
circumstances as an action on impeachment proceedings submitted by the Control
Yuan or to ratify constitutional amendments submitted by the Legislative Yuan.

     A presidium of 85 members is elected from among the delegates to serve as
a steering committee. Members of the presidium preside in rotation over the
plenary sessions of the assembly. Other appropriate committees are organized.
There is a permanent secretariat headed by a secretary general.

     The latest session of the National Assembly, held in Taipei in January
1966, totaled 1,488 delegates. Since the first election in November 1947
succeeding elections have been impossible because of the withdrawal of the
government to Taiwan. Therefore, the delegates elected to the first session
have continued in office by presidential decree although all were not able to
evacuate the mainland. Alternate delegates have been qualified by the National
Assembly to fill vacancies from some constituencies because of the toll of age
or mortality. The delegates to the National Assembly are elected to serve a
6-year term that expires on the day of convocation of the next assembly.

     According to a 1966 amendment to the Temporary Provisions Effective
During the Period of Communist Rebellion, the President of the Republic was
authorized to hold elections to fill elective offices that had become vacant
for legitimate reasons or for which additional representation was called for
because of population increases in areas under government control. In effect,
this provision at the present time applies only to the province of Taiwan.

The Presidency

     Under the Constitution the President is the Chief of State and represents
it in foreign relations. He commands the army, navy, and air force. He
promulgates laws and issues decrees with the countersignature of the president
of the Executive Yuan (a position corresponding to that of the premier), who
is appointed by the President with the approval of the Legislative Yuan.
Subject to the restraints of the Legislative Yuan, the President declares war
and makes peace. He also grants general amnesties and confers honors and
decorations.

     With the approval or confirmation of the Legislative Yuan, the President
may declare martial law. In the case of a natural crisis calling for emergency
measures, the President, during the recess of the Legislative Yuan, may issue
emergency decrees to cope with the situation, but such decrees have to be
presented within 1 month to the Legislative Yuan for ratification. The
Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion have,
however, freed the President from the restrictions concerning the
proclamation of martial law and the issuance of emergency decrees. All
decrees issued by the President must be countersigned by the president of
the Executive Yuan, who is constitutionally responsible to the Legislative
Yuan.

     The president also may request the Legislative Yuan to reconsider any
bill the executive branch of the government deems difficult to carry out. Such
a request could be overruled by a two-thirds majority of the attending members
of the Legislative Yuan.

     Because of the extraordinary emergency requirements brought about by the
war with the Chinese Communists, there has emerged a strong presidential
system of government. Any Chinese citizen over 40 years of age is eligible for
the offices of President and Vice President. The term of office is 6 years,
and an incumbent is eligible to hold a second term. Under the Temporary
Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion of May 1948,
however, President Chiang Kaishek has been reelected for third and fourth
terms. The constitutionality of this continuation in office was ruled upon
affirmatively by the Grand Council of Justices of the Judicial Yuan.

     The presidential office is supported by a staff supervised by a secretary
general. Directly attached to the President is a director of military affairs
(also referred to as the personal chief of staff of the President). The direct
line of administrative control goes through the Ministry of Defense of the
Executive Yuan; sole command authority is in the hands of the President. Other
organs directly under the President are the Academia Sinica, the Institute of
National History, and the Mainland Recovery Planning Board.

     In March 1966 the temporary emergency powers of the President were
extended by amendment approved by the National Assembly. The most significant
provision of this amendment was the establishment of the National Security
Council with the following responsibilities: formulating major policies and
decisions regarding the general mobilization of the nation; originating major
policies for defense; laying down the principle for national reconstruction;
framing overall strategy for the conduct of war; administering civil affairs
and supervising military government in zones of operation and liberation; and
working out basic policy for the suppression of Communist rebellion. The
granting of these expanded powers was occasioned by the political situation on
the mainland in 1965 and 1966.

Executive Yuan

     The Executive Yuan is the highest administrative organ of the state. It
consists of a president (commonly referred to as premier), vice president,
eight ministries, two commissions, several ministers without portfolio and
other auxiliary staffs. The president of the Executive Yuan is nominated and,
with the consent of the Legislative Yuan, appointed by the President of the
Republic. The vice president and ministers are appointed by the President of
the Republic upon the nomination of the president of the Executive Yuan.