Page "President of the Republic of China" Paragraph 13

The Constitution does not clearly define whether the president is more powerful than the premier, as it names the Executive Yuan ( headed by the premier ) as the " highest administrative authority " with oversight over domestic matters while giving the president powers as commander-in-chief of the military and authority over foreign affairs.

Prior to his election as president in 1948, Chiang Kai-shek had insisted that he be premier under the new Constitution, while allowing the president ( to which Chiang nominated Hu Shih ) be a mere figurehead.

However, the National Assembly overwhelmingly supported Chiang as president and once in this position, Chiang continued to exercise vast prerogatives as leader and the premiership served to execute policy, not make it.

Thus, until the 1980s power in the Republic of China was personalized rather than institutionalized which meant that the power of the president depended largely on who occupied the office.

For example, during the tenure of Yen Chia-kan, the office was largely ceremonial with real power in the hands of the Premier of the Republic of China, Chiang Ching-Kuo, and power switched back to the presidency when Chiang became president.

After President Lee Teng-hui succeeded Chiang as president in 1988, the power struggle within the KMT extended to the constitutional debate over the relationship between the president and the premier.

The first three premiers under Lee, Yu Kuo-hwa, Lee Huan, and Hau Pei-tsun were mainlanders who had initially opposed Lee's ascension to power.

The appointment of Lee and Hau were compromises by President Lee to placate conservatives in the KMT.

The subsequent appointment of the first native Taiwanese premier Lien Chan was taken as a sign of Lee's consolidation of power.

Moreover, during this time, the power of the premier to approve the president's appointments and the power of the Legislative Yuan to confirm the president's choice of premier was removed establishing the president as the more powerful position of the two.