Not open in course pre-registration period。 The course is conducted in English。Students in department’s specialized English classes have priority in enrolling.

This is a course to study the constitutional law and learn about how a government has been structured and operates under a written constitution in Taiwan, to a level that is well above layperson but below expert, for first-year college students in a newly visited jurisdiction, from a cultural development perspective. The first half of the two-semester course is to understand the constitutional framework of the Taiwan government. The second half will focus on its performance in terms of human rights since the promulgation of the Constitution of the Republic of China in 1947.

To understand what constitution and constitutionalism mean, and their importance to the study of political science; to understand the history, the framework and the content of the Constitution and development of constitutionalism in Taiwan under it; to understand the basic structure, among different government models, of the government that is formed and that operates under the Constitution as a democratic republic in Taiwan; to understand the meaning of rule of law, separation of power, judicial review and human rights, and their cultural bearings in Taiwan as well as in the development of the contemporary world; and to understand, most importantly, what the limits on government powers are.

Students will be required to attend all classes, read the required course materials, submit discussion questions when assigned, participate in class discussions, and hand in a final paper.

Two to four hours per week.

John Franklin Copper's book, Taiwan: Nation-State or Province? (Routledge: New York, 7th edition, 2020) will provide students with the basic background knowledge of Taiwan needed for this course, in particular, its history and political system. The ebook is accessible online at NTU Library. Students are highly recommended to read the book before starting class; reading of chapters 1, 2 and 4 is required. Please refer to the reading list for other materials posted on the NTU cool. Among them, the text of the Republic of China Constitution and its amendments, as well as the data bank of Judicial Yuan interpretations and Constitutional Court judgments, are raw materials that will often be referenced and discussed in class.

待補