By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) said he favored presidentialism as the system of government for Taiwan, because a powerful president is more likely to push vital reforms, the Chinese-language Wealth magazine reported.
Asked to choose between the presidential system and parliamentary system, Lee said in an interview with the magazine that while the latter has advantages and is supported by many, the former would better fit Taiwan.
“A president is likely to face fewer obstacles than a parliamentary Cabinet in promoting national reform. The National Security Council would also be the best option to boost a president’s executive power,” Lee was quoted as saying.
However, Lee added that Taiwan is not yet a normal country that can proceed to a discussion of the constitutional system.
Deeply concerned about the retrogression of democracy in Taiwan, the 92-year-old has been advocating a “second democratic reform” and organizing a citizen constitutional conference so that people’s opinions would be included.
Asked what the most important characteristic for a national leader is, Lee said a leader has to have a “strong will.”
He added that he was quite impressed with young student leaders like Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) and Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷), and hoped that he would have an opportunity to nurture the young men.
Lee, who served as president from 1988 to 2000, also offered his observation of a pair of potential presidential candidates, Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
“First of all, Tsai is short of competent aides. Secondly, she has to be a lot more courageous, which is always an important characteristic for a leader,” Lee said.
“While Tsai is both sensible and rational, which is what a good leader should be, she should also be more compassionate to win people’s hearts,” he said, adding that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is a perfect example of a national leader who does not care about the people.
With regards to Chu, Lee said that while the KMT politician has left him with a good impression, he was not familiar with Chu.
“I would say that one of the biggest challenges Chu faces is whether he is competent enough to be a leader,” Lee said.
“[Chu] has been vague about his political philosophy and I’m not sure whether his father-in-law, who is very aggressive, would have an impact on his future,” he added.
Chu’s father-in-law, Kao Yu-jen (高育仁), is the former speaker of the defunct Taiwan Provincial Assembly.
The former president, dubbed Mr Democracy, said he hoped that Taiwan could eventually free itself from the restraints of traditional Chinese feudalism, which he said was the root cause of the many troubles that Taiwan faces today.