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Towards an Analytical Framework of Constitutionalism in East Asia: The Case of Taiwan

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Taiwan and International Human Rights

Part of the book series: Economics, Law, and Institutions in Asia Pacific ((ELIAP))

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed the reemergence of discussions on Confucian constitutionalism, communitarian constitutionalism, and Asian values. Despite the differences of these concepts, all reject Western liberal constitutionalism, emphasizing that Asian countries should prioritize social and economic rights over civil and political rights. Nevertheless, this dichotomy in fact does not hold in Taiwan and many other East Asian jurisdictions. This chapter suggests that, on the one hand, constitutionalism in East Asia is inevitably a blend of liberal constitutionalism and Confucian constitutionalism. Namely, in East Asia, the differences between democracies and dictatorships in this regard are often a matter of degree, not of kind. On the other hand, human rights are better protected in Taiwan than in most other Asian countries because the progress in human rights is taking place concomitantly with the decline of Confucianism. From this perspective, it is plausible that Taiwan will become the only democracy among societies that predominantly are comprised of people of Chinese descent precisely because it discards Confucianism and Asian values, which serve as a veneer of legitimacy for autocrats to justify dictatorship.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See Bell (2015), at pp. 1–109.

  2. 2.

    See e.g., Rosenfeld (2004), at p. 633.

  3. 3.

    Yeh and Chang (2011), at p. 805.

  4. 4.

    See Tushnet (2015), at p. 391; Moustafa and Ginsburg eds. (2008), at pp. 1–2; Ginsburg and Simpser eds. (2014), at pp. 1–3.

  5. 5.

    To be fair, they do not claim this. Neither do they reject the possibility that there may be other models of East Asian constitutionalism.

  6. 6.

    Ginsburg (2012), at p. 88.

  7. 7.

    Shin (2012), at p. 74.

  8. 8.

    Tu et al. (1992), at p. 55.

  9. 9.

    Shin, supra note 7, at p. 183.

  10. 10.

    Ginsburg, supra note 6, at pp. 791–796.

  11. 11.

    Hahm (2009), at p. 135; Kim (2016), at pp. 107–137; Son (2012), at pp. 152–209; Qing (2013), at pp. 27–43.

  12. 12.

    But see He (2016), at p. 64.

  13. 13.

    UN Office High Comm’r for Human Rights, Conscientious Objection of Military Service Case, UN Doc HR/PUB/12/1, UN Sales No. E.12.XIV.3 (2004).

  14. 14.

    Ginsburg (2002), at pp. 791–796.

  15. 15.

    Ginsburg, supra note 6, at p. 19.

  16. 16.

    Shin (2013), at p. 259.

  17. 17.

    Admittedly, whether Confucianism and liberal constitutionalism are normatively compatible is still a debatable issue, which is beyond the scope of this chapter.

  18. 18.

    Shin, supra note 16, at p. 282.

  19. 19.

    Oh (2015), at pp. 91–92.

  20. 20.

    Ma (1998).

  21. 21.

    Son (2012), at p. 423; Son (2013), at p. 373.

  22. 22.

    Li (2014), at p. 845.

  23. 23.

    He, supra note 12, at pp. 72–73.

  24. 24.

    Caldwell (2017), at pp. 746–747.

  25. 25.

    Lin et al. (2003), at pp. 634–637.

  26. 26.

    Friedman (1975), at p. 280.

  27. 27.

    Hsieh (2015), at p. 6.

  28. 28.

    Chen (2006), at pp. 80–90; Chen (2016), at pp. 122–129.

  29. 29.

    Dafaguan Shizi Di 702 Hao [大法官字釋第702號] (The Constitutional Court Interpretation No. 702) (27 July 2012) (Chen J dissenting) (Taiwan).

  30. 30.

    Dafaguan Shizi Di 724 Hao [大法官釋字第724號] (The Constitutional Court Interpretation No. 724) (1 Aug 2014) (Su J concurring) (Taiwan).

  31. 31.

    Yeh and Chang (2011).

  32. 32.

    Kim (2014), at p. 126.

  33. 33.

    Bell (2013), at pp. 1–7.

  34. 34.

    Fan (2004), at p. 164.

  35. 35.

    Shin, supra note 16, at pp. 259, 271.

  36. 36.

    Chang (2011), at p. 136.

  37. 37.

    Yeh (2016), pp. 244–246.

  38. 38.

    For further introduction and analyses, see Jones and Su (2015), at p. 193; Yeh (2015), at p. 315.

  39. 39.

    Kim (2013), at pp. 357, 373.

  40. 40.

    Shin, supra note 16, at p. 259.

  41. 41.

    Dupre and Yeh (2013), at pp. 45, 51.

  42. 42.

    Chang and Law (2017), pp. 37–42.

  43. 43.

    Vermeule (2011), at pp. 3–37.

  44. 44.

    Donnelly (1999), at pp. 60, 69; Sen (1999), at pp. 88, 97.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institutum Iurisprudentiae, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chien-Chih Lin

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  1. Chien-Chih Lin
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Correspondence to Chien-Chih Lin .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. U.S.-Asia Law Institute, New York University, New York, NY, USA

    Jerome A. Cohen

  2. Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, USA

    William P. Alford

  3. Constitutional Court, Taipei, Taiwan, Taiwan

    Chang-fa Lo

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Lin, CC. (2019). Towards an Analytical Framework of Constitutionalism in East Asia: The Case of Taiwan. In: Cohen, J., Alford, W., Lo, Cf. (eds) Taiwan and International Human Rights. Economics, Law, and Institutions in Asia Pacific. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0350-0_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0350-0_7

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