The Constitution - Territory

Original post by www.taiwanlawresources.com

Article 4 of the Constitution states:

第 4 條

中華民國領土，依其固有之疆域，非經國民大會之決議，不得變更之。

Article 4

The territory of the Republic of China according to its existing national boundaries shall not be altered except by resolution of the National Assembly.

Vocabulary

中華民國  [Zhōnghuámínguó]  /Republic of China/

領土  [lǐngtǔ]  /territory/

依  [yī]  /according to/depend on/

其  [qí]  /his/her/its/theirs/that/such/it (refers to sth preceding it)/

固有  [gùyǒu]  /(v) be intrinsic or inherent to sth/existing/

之  [zhī]  /(literary equivalent of 的)/

疆域  [jiāngyù]  /territory/

非  [fēi]  /non-/not-/un-/

經  [jīng]  /pass through/to undergo/

國民大會  [guómíndàhuì]  /National Assembly/

決議  [juéyì]  /resolution/

不得  [bùdé]  /must not/may not/not be allowed/cannot/

變更  [biàngēng]  /change/alter/modify/

This Article was amended by the first amendment of the Constitution which states:  ”The electors of the free area of the Republic of China shall cast ballots at a referendum within three months of the expiration of a six-month period following the public announcement of a proposal passed by the Legislative Yuan on the amendment of the Constitution or alteration of the national territory. The provisions of Article 4 and Article 174 of the Constitution shall not apply.” 

Some grammar usage tips:

1)

其 － 置於句中或句末。用於彼﹑何之後。

其 is used to refer to something preceeding it, and in this Article 其 refers to 中華民國領土。

Example in the Civil Code:

第 155 條

（要約之失效（一）－拒絕要約）

要約經拒絕者，失其拘束力。

Article 155   

An offer ceases to be binding if it is refused.

2)

非經，未經 － Has not gone through, has not been registered.

Example in the Civil Code:

第 30 條

法人非經向主管機關登記，不得成立。

Article 30   

A juridical person can not be established unless it has been registered with the relevant authorities.

經 － 歷、過。 學法律需要經年累月的努力.

To learn the law requires many years of accumulative effort.