Ko’s latest proposal a non-starter for KinmenBy Huang Di-ying 黃帝穎Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has proposed turning Kinmen into an “experimental zone” for peace between Taiwan and China. Yet no matter which administrative district is chosen for such an experiment, it would be unconstitutional to put Ko’s proposal in practice, namely, carrying out political and social experiments in relation to autocratic China. Ko’s proposal not only goes against the Constitution’s concept of “defensive democracy,” but also demonstrates how Ko lacks even a basic understanding of democracy and the rule of law. Given that the Constitution is entirely based on the order of a liberal democracy, Ko’s proposal is clearly unconstitutional. When countries across Europe were redesigning their constitutions, “defensive democracy” was emplaced to prevent the self-destruction or damage of their “constitutional order of liberal democracy.”Ko’s proposal would damage Kinmen’s “constitutional order of liberal democracy,” hence it violates the Constitution’s “defensive democracy.” Ko’s proposal is by all means unconstitutional.

Source: Taipei Times September 15, 2023 17:23 UTC