Questioning the legality and necessity of President Chen Shui-bian's (
The committee -- formed by the head of the Central Election Committee and representatives from all political parties according to their representation in the legislature -- is responsible for deciding whether a referendum proposed by the people is suitable.
"All the 14 [pan-blue] heads of cities and counties agreed that Chen's proposed referendum has serious flaws in its legality and necessity," Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) policy convener Tseng Yung-chuan (
"Therefore they see the need to have the proposed referendum content reviewed by the Referendum Review Committee strictly for its legality," he said.
The news conference was held following a meeting attended by all pan-blue mayors and county commissioners, except Taoyuan County Commissioner Chu Li-lun (
On Jan. 16, Chen unveiled the two questions that will be put to voters in a referendum on March 20, the same day as the presidential election.
The questions will ask the people of Taiwan whether they would support enhancing the nation's defense capabilities should China refuse to withdraw the missiles it has targeting Taiwan and whether the government should negotiate with China on cross-strait peace and stability.
The opposition KMT-People First party (PFP) alliance's initial response to Chen's announcement was to brand it "illegal" and to urge pan-blue local chiefs to boycott the referendum.
But there was no talk of a boycott yesterday, and the pan-blue alliance instead turned the subject over to the Executive Yuan.
Tseng urged Premier Yu Shyi-kun "not to blindly accommodate [Chen's] proposed referendum content without regard for law and [Yu] should instead present a clear, detailed explanation on the legality and necessity of Chen's proposed referendum."
"While the president [is calling the referendum] for the sake of personal campaign electioneering, the premier should be a role model to civil servants nationwide and hold fast to the basic principle of implementing rules according to the law," Tseng said.
"To sum up the consensus of the pan-blue local chiefs, they are opposed to illegal referendums and condemned the attempt to use the referendum as a tool to manipulate the presidential election."
Before the meeting, KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
Also see story:
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
SOUTH CHINA SEA? The Philippine president spoke of adding more classrooms and power plants, while skipping tensions with China over disputed areas Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday blasted “useless and crumbling” flood control projects in a state of the nation address that focused on domestic issues after a months-long feud with his vice president. Addressing a joint session of congress after days of rain that left at least 31 dead, Marcos repeated his recent warning that the nation faced a climate change-driven “new normal,” while pledging to investigate publicly funded projects that had failed. “Let’s not pretend, the people know that these projects can breed corruption. Kickbacks ... for the boys,” he said, citing houses that were “swept away” by the floods. “Someone has
‘CRUDE’: The potential countermeasure is in response to South Africa renaming Taiwan’s representative offices and the insistence that it move out of Pretoria Taiwan is considering banning exports of semiconductors to South Africa after the latter unilaterally downgraded and changed the names of Taiwan’s two representative offices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. On Monday last week, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation unilaterally released a statement saying that, as of April 1, the Taipei Liaison Offices in Pretoria and Cape Town had been renamed the “Taipei Commercial Office in Johannesburg” and the “Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town.” Citing UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, it said that South Africa “recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole
RSS