Taiwan President Lai Ching-te (center) attended the flag-raising ceremony at the Presidential Office on the 1st. Facing a deadlock between the ruling and opposition parties, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te emphasized in his New Year speech that the Executive Yuan has the right to propose a reconsideration of controversial bills passed by the Legislative Yuan, allowing room for the Legislative Yuan to re-evaluate. Constitutional bodies can also request constitutional interpretation, and the Constitutional Court can make rulings to clarify constitutional boundaries and uphold constitutional order, gradually consolidating the constitutional system. He also stated, "The people have the rights of election, recall, initiative, and referendum, which can gather greater democratic power and demonstrate the true meaning of sovereignty belonging to the people."
Lai Ching-te delivered his first New Year speech since taking office on January 1st, with the theme "Enhancing National Power with Democracy, Facing the New World Situation." He stated that regardless of any threats and challenges faced by Taiwan, democracy is the only path for Taiwan to take; they must continue forward and never turn back.
Speaking on the competition between political parties in Taiwan, Lai Ching-te emphasized that this is a part of democratic politics, but he pointed out that political disputes in Taiwan must be resolved within the constitutional system and through democratic means in order to continuously deepen democracy.
Lai Ching-te further stated that the Executive Yuan has the right to propose a reconsideration of controversial bills passed by the Legislative Yuan, providing space for re-evaluation. Constitutional bodies can also request constitutional interpretation, and through the Constitutional Court’s rulings, they can clarify constitutional boundaries and uphold constitutional order, gradually consolidating the constitutional system. The people also have the rights of election, recall, initiative, and referendum, which can gather greater democratic power and demonstrate the true meaning of sovereignty belonging to the people.
The Legislative Yuan had earlier scheduled reviews for amendments to the "Public Officials Election and Recall Act," "Fiscal Revenue and Expenditure Division Act," and "Constitutional Litigation Act." DPP legislators, in an attempt to block the amendments, clashed with KMT legislators in the Legislative Yuan. After the scuffle ended, the Legislative Yuan passed the aforementioned bills in their third reading.
After giving his New Year speech, Lai Ching-te also accepted a group interview with the media. In response to media inquiries on whether he would extend an olive branch to the opposition parties, Lai Ching-te replied that he had invited KMT Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu to represent Taiwan and lead representatives from both the ruling and opposition parties to attend the inauguration ceremony of the newly elected President Trump in the United States.
He also said, "I intend to invite them to the Presidential Office for coffee and discussions on national affairs and the development of the country's future as they prepare to depart under Speaker Han's leadership. I hope everyone can work together."