The Emergence of Modern Constitutional Culture in Taiwan

台灣近代憲政文化的形成

台灣於十九世紀末日本統治時期,第一次與源於西方的近代憲政主義有所接觸。經由日本明治憲法,日本殖民政府把建基於權力分立的政府體制引進台灣,但基於台灣人民對於這套運作模式尚不熟悉,在適用上,仍附帶了許多限制。直到接近日本統治末期,一些台灣人知識菁英已經懂得如何利用明治憲法中的概念,爭取權利,也取得了一些成果。從1945年開始,欠缺憲政經驗的國民黨政權統治台灣已逾50年。國民黨政府將政府權力集中於行政權,尤其是該政黨與政黨領導人的手中。即使如此,基於政治權宜之計,國民黨政府在規範形式上,仍然受中華民國憲法所拘束;該憲法在國共內戰發生前即已制定,隨後許多的條文均遭凍結。隨著台灣1980年代以來的民主化進程,與2000年第一次政權交替,權力分立與基本權保護在台灣有大幅的擴展;然而,因為這些民主化與自由化的成果僅存在於台灣大約20年,台灣社會大衆並不全然從自由與民主的概念理解憲政主義的內涵。作者認為,在台灣,只有當各個團體都能擁戴自由與民主的價值的時候,社會的分裂才有可能被治癒。

Taiwan encountered its first exposure to Western constitutionalism with the advent of Japanese rule in the late 19th century. The Japanese colonial government brought the system of separation of powers to Taiwan through its Meiji Constitution, though its scope was limited early on because the Taiwanese were not familiar with this system. However, during the latter period of Japanese rule, some Taiwanese elites applied the concepts in the Meiji Constitution to their struggles for civil rights, and to a certain degree succeeded. Since 1945, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government, which lacked experience with constitutionalism, had governed Taiwan for more than 50 years. The KMT government concentrated power in the administrative branch, and specifically in the party and the dictator himself. Nevertheless, for the sake of political expediency, the KMT government nominally abided by the Republic of China Constitution, which was drafted in China before the Communist revolution, though suspended many important provisions. Following the democratization and liberalization of Taiwan in the late 1980s as well as the change of the governing party in 2000, the separation of powers and the protection of human rights were greatly expanded in Taiwan. However, because these changes to liberty and democracy have only been in effect for about 20 years, the Taiwanese public does not entirely understand or accept the concept of constitutionalism based on liberty and democracy. The authors argue that only if all of the population groups in Taiwan embrace these values of freedom and democracy can the divided Taiwanese society be healed.