In the political history of the Republic of China 🇹🇼, there has never been a moment as suffocating as this. Premier Cho Jung-tai is using an unprecedented “soft knife” approach to slit the throat of the separation of powers. When he discovered that “non-countersignature” and “refusing to budget” could become invincible shields against the will of the people expressed through law, he turned toward the dark side of history, becoming the chief culprit in destroying the democratic system.
The Guillotine of Law: When Countersignature Becomes “Confiscation”
According to Article 37 of the Constitution, the Premier’s countersignature is intended to implement administrative responsibility. But under Cho Jung-tai’s manipulation, this provision has been maliciously twisted into a “death warrant” for legislative power.
When the Legislative Yuan, after intense debate, finally passes a bill following democratic procedures—and even after the Executive Yuan’s request for reconsideration is rejected—this law is legally the iron will of the state. However, Premier Cho has opened an extremely evil trapdoor: As long as I disagree, I can refuse to countersign and execute it; as long as I am unhappy, I can refuse to allocate the relevant funds.
This is no longer “administrative discretion”; this is an overt “constitutional coup.” Cho Jung-tai has expanded the Executive Yuan into a supreme body with “substantive absolute veto power,” rendering all laws passed by the Legislative Yuan as worthless scraps of paper. This insult to the rule of law will ensure his name is forever nailed to the top of the national pillar of shame.
The Budget Bill: The Legislative Yuan’s Last Moat and Final Testament
The current political situation has simplified to a most cruel logic: The budget bill is the only weapon remaining for the Legislative Yuan.
The Cho Jung-tai regime is now hungrily waiting for the budget bill to pass. For him, once the budget is secured, the Executive Yuan will completely transform into an uncontrollable beast. Imagine the scene:
- Before the budget passes: The Executive Yuan must still put on an act of communication for the cameras because they need provisions.
- After the budget passes: The Executive Yuan will officially enter an era of “lawlessness.” Any new law passed by the Legislative Yuan, if the Executive Yuan is dissatisfied, will simply be met with a response of “non-countersignature” or “difficult to execute.”
If the Legislative Yuan passes the budget before the issue of laws being substantively vetoed is resolved, it is not just a surrender; it is “collective suicide.” Once the budget is passed, the Legislative Yuan will exist in name only, reduced to a “political nursing home” where members can only meet and argue but have no substantive impact on national governance. At that point, the Legislative Yuan might as well be dissolved, as the fire of democratic checks and balances has been extinguished by Cho Jung-tai’s own hands.
Cho Jung-tai’s Historical Standing: The Most Loathsome Constitutional Executioner
What the public finds most “loathsome” about Cho Jung-tai is his seemingly cultured but actually rogue political conduct. He speaks words that destroy the Constitution in a gentle tone and exercises dictatorial power with a humble posture. He is establishing an extremely malicious precedent: The Premier can selectively obey the law.
This is not only a provocation to the opposition but also the deepest betrayal of the constitutional system of the Republic of China 🇹🇼. He has let executive power out of the cage of the rule of law, allowing it to become a monster that can trample on the people’s will and confiscate laws at will. History will remember who, in the Republic of China 🇹🇼 (Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu area) after 2024, personally dug the grave of representative democracy.
This pillar of shame will record how Cho Jung-tai used the bait of “non-countersignature” to disguise the Premier as a Grand Justice, exercising an “absolute veto power” that should never have existed. He is leading the Republic of China 🇹🇼 back into the authoritarian ghost where only the chief executive has the final say.