Countersignature is the step by which the premier, and where relevant the minister concerned, signs alongside the president when laws are promulgated. Article 37 of the constitution requires it; without countersignature, promulgation does not proceed.

The bills at issue include legislation on future savings accounts for children and youth. Han said that if the Executive Yuan may repeatedly refuse to countersign or implement laws simply because it disagrees with them, what is hollowed out is not a single statute but the constitutional order as a whole.

Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee said the premier acted within the authority of Article 37 and that the cabinet bears its own constitutional responsibility. Cho responded in the evening by asking whether the legislature under Han's leadership had itself observed the constitution, saying the cabinet acts only in response, whether by requesting reconsideration or by withholding countersignature.

As refusals recur, a referral to constitutional interpretation has been raised as a possibility. Disputes over the Constitutional Court's quorum and admissibility rules leave it unclear whether such a process could begin promptly.

In practical terms the effective date of the legislation remains undetermined. Where budgets and implementation plans assume promulgation, agency timetables slip with it.