Taiwan's constitutional conflict between the Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan has escalated, with Premier Cho Jung-tai defending his position of "not countersigning" — bad news for relations between the two branches, though he has at the same time extended an olive branch in the form of a courtesy visit.

• Cho said the constitution stipulates that the president's promulgation of a law must be countersigned by the premier, and that this is a responsibility conferred by the system, not him personally acting as a grand justice.
• He argued that Taiwan has a dual-leadership system in which the president holds no veto power, and that if the Legislative Yuan passes unconstitutional bills and the government is left powerless, it amounts to "opposition dictatorship."
• He called on the Legislative Yuan not to draw up budget allocations on its own, and said it should not use legal means to force the Executive Yuan to increase spending.
• The Executive Yuan council has approved next year's central government general budget bill; once it is sent to the Legislative Yuan, Cho will visit Legislative Yuan Speaker Han Kuo-yu together with Secretary-General Chang Tun-han.

Outlook: Once the budget bill reaches the Legislative Yuan, the countersignature dispute and the tug-of-war between the governing and opposition camps over the budget are expected to intensify again.