Constitutional Reform : Downsizing Legislature and Amendment Referendum

Abstract

The most striking development of constitutional reform in Taiwan in 2004 was the Amendment Bill passed by the Legislative Yuan. The major goal of this Bill was about the reform of the Legislative Yuan and the abolition of the National Assembly. This paper deals with this constitutional development in Taiwan. It gives the details about the Bill and describes and analyzes the results of the previous amendments to the Constitution. Two versions of constitutional reform, one by the Pan Blues and the other by the Pan Greens, are then compared. It is concluded that the decision by President Chen Shui-bian to write a new Constitution for a republic of Taiwan would provoke an invasion from China and destroy Taiwan’s democracy.