New York ? Taiwan’s leader took his campaign for a new constitution to New York, as Taiwanese media widely reported protests by Beijing supporters against his visit.

During a speech Friday, President Chen Shui-bian described his campaign for a new constitution as an effort to increase government efficiency.

“A lot depends on whether we can consolidate our democracy by rectifying inadequacies in our constitutional framework,” Chen said at a ceremony to accept the International League for Human Rights’ annual Human Rights Award.

Taiwan’s current constitution was approved more than five decades ago, when the former ruling Nationalist Party governed both the mainland and Taiwan.