Premier of The Republic of China - Premier As Head of Government

Premier As Head of Government

The Constitution of the Republic of China did not originally define strictly the relation between the premier and the president of the Republic and it was not clear whether the government would lean towards a presidential system or parliamentary system when divided. Power shifted to Premier Chiang Ching-kuo after President Chiang Kai-shek's death but shifted to the presidency again when Chiang Ching-kuo became president. After President Lee Teng-hui succeeded Chiang as president in 1988, the power struggle within the KMT extended to the constitutional debate over the relationship between the president and the premier. The first three premiers under Lee, Yu Kuo-hwa, Lee Huan, and Hau Pei-tsun were mainlanders who had initially opposed Lee's ascension to power. The appointment of Lee and Hau were compromises by President Lee to placate the conservative mainlander faction in the party. The subsequent appointment of premier Lien Chan was taken as a sign of Lee's consolidation of power. Moreover, during this time, the power of the premier to approve the president's appointments and the power of the Legislative Yuan to confirm the president's choice of premier was removed (out of fears that the Democratic Progressive Party would one day gain control of the legislature), clearly establishing the president as the more powerful position of the two.

The relationship between the premier and the legislature again became a contentious issue after the 2000 Presidential election, which led to the election of the Democratic Progressive Party's Chen Shui-bian to the presidency, while the legislature has remained under the control of the Pan-Blue Coalition. Initially, President Chen Shui-bian appointed to the premiership Tang Fei, who was a member of the Kuomintang, but this arrangement proved unworkable and subsequent appointments were from the Democratic Progressive Party. The established constitutional convention is that the premier is responsible to the President and does not have any responsibility to the legislature other than to report on his activities. However, the Pan-Blue Coalition has contended that Chen's actions are unconstitutional and has proposed to name its own choice of premier. Pan-Blue has since rejected, on principle, all legislative bills originating from the Executive Yuan (though some bills with inter-party support are simply rewritten and reintroduced by legislators), leading to legislative gridlock. This has renewed calls for a constitutional amendment to better define the relationship between the executive and legislative branches of government.