憲政體制對COVID-19疫情的回應：台灣半總統制經驗的研究

本文基於一國憲政體制類型會影響政府在COVID-19疫情時運作的方式，嘗試探討台灣半總統制政府如何回應疫情。研究焦點放在中央政府層次，探討總統、行政院院長、疫情指揮中心（指揮官）以及國會等部門的運作，並考量一致性政府和總統兼黨主席等因素的影響。研究發現，在總統權力優勢的半總統制下，蔡英文總統在處理疫情上的角色是多重的，藉由總統和黨主席雙重身份，她既是主要政策決定者，也同時介入政策執行的督導和措施的指示。相對而言，行政院院長暨其領導的相關部會仍是因應疫情的行政主體，不過因疫情指揮中心和指揮官在非常時期具有特殊處置和裁罰權力，使其角色較前者凸顯。因此，在行政權內部的焦點，偏向總統和疫情指揮中心指揮官這兩端。再從行政和立法關係來看，由於處於一致政府，加上危機時刻偏向行政權主導的時刻，因此權力向行政權傾斜。
鑑於比較研究的價值，本文同時納入台灣2003年SARS疫情的個案，以及法國、芬蘭與台灣跨國經驗之比較。研究顯示，疫情時期政府各部門的功能不僅反映其憲政體制特性，更突顯其中特定權力機關「強者更強，弱者恆弱」的現象，這是關於憲政體制理論的新發現。

Based on the fact that the type of government system will affect the way the government operates during the COVID-19 epidemic, this article attempts to explore how Taiwan’s semi-presidential government handled the epidemic. The focus of the study is on the central government level, exploring the operations of the president, the president of the Executive Yuan, the epidemic command center (commander), and Congress, and considering the impact of factors such as unified government and the fact that the president is the chairman of a political party. The study found that under the semi-presidential system where the president has the advantage of power, President Tsai Ing-wen plays multiple roles in dealing with the epidemic. Through her dual roles as president and party chairperson, President Tsai is not only the main policy decision-maker, but also involved in the supervision of policy implementation and the instruction of measures. Relatively speaking, the Premier and the relevant ministries led by her are still the main body of administrative power in response to the epidemic. However, because the epidemic command center and commanders have special handling and punishment powers during extraordinary times, the role of the former has been diluted to some extent. Therefore, the focus within the executive power was skewed towards the two ends of the president and the commander of the epidemic command center. Next, the power is unbalanced between the executive and the legislative department owing to the reasons that the executive had more power in the unified government especially during the time of crisis.
In view of the value of comparative research, this article also includes a case comparison of the SARS epidemic in Taiwan in 2003, as well as a comparison of the cross-border experiences of France, Finland and Taiwan. Research shows that the functions of various government departments during the epidemic not only reflect the characteristics of its constitutional system, but also highlight the phenomenon of“the strong get stronger and the weak remain weak”in specific power agencies. This is a new discovery in the theory of constitutional system.