The legislature failed to pass a referendum law (
First, the exercise of direct democracy is a basic right of the people in a democracy and the Constitution states that the people have the right to initiate referendums. However, according to the Central Legal Standards Law (
Second, referendums should be the tool of last resort for settling disputes on national issues. Given the political upheavals over the proposed referendum law, just think of the chaos that would ensue if the legislature refused to accept the outcome of a referendum that was held on the basis of an administrative order. If the government only plans to hold consultative referendums, they will merely be high-priced opinion polls and will be of no help in resolving problems.
Third, even if the Cabinet decides to appropriate money from the secondary reserve fund to cover the costs of a referendum, this plan will have to be sent to the legislature for review. According to the Budget Law (
In 1994, then Taipei County commissioner You Ching (
These examples show that the results of a referendum are not a cure-all for major disputes. They are not binding unless the referendum is carried out through a legal process acknowledged by all sides.
The Chen administration is trying hard to fulfill its campaign promises to former DPP chairman and hardline anti-nuclear activist Lin I-hsiung (
The government's attempt to hold referendums on the basis of an administrative order is not acceptable. The ruling and opposition camps have reached a basic consensus on a proposed referendum law. They should allow the legislators to vote on the bill in the next legislative session to ensure the people's right to referendums has proper legal grounding.
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