Negotiations on a recount were deadlocked yesterday after the pan-blue camp insisted the president issue an emergency decree to allow a recount to proceed.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said any recount would have to be the result of legal amendments.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
The pan-blue caucuses and the alliance of independent lawmakers backed Wang's request, while the green camp rejected the suggestion and insisted on amendments to legislation.
Wang said cross-party negotiations to amend the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Law (總統副總統選舉罷免法) would only take place this morning if the Central Election Commission (CEC) did not decide last night to proceed with a recount. As of press time, the CEC had not made a decision.
Earlier yesterday the DPP caucus put forward a proposal to amend the recall law to allow a partial or complete recount for instances when the gap between the two leading candidates in the election is less than one percent of total ballots. The amendment could be applied retroactively to Saturday's election.
DPP asked that the proposal be discussed in the legislature's Procedure Committee yesterday so that it could pass the committee stage and go to second and third reading in the afternoon.
"If the proposal can get through the committee at noon, then in the afternoon we can pass the amendment in the legislative sitting and have the president promulgate it immediately, DPP caucus leader Tsai Huang-liang (
"Then we can start the recount on Thursday at the earliest. This is the best way to proceed with a recount as demanded by the pan-blue camp," Tsai said.
The KMT and PFP caucuses already had a similar proposal waiting to be discussed by the committee, but the two caucuses yesterday opposed the DPP's proposal, saying the DPP was trying to delay the recount.
KMT caucus whip Liao Feng-te (
"It won't pass as soon as the DPP claims. The attempt to apply the amendment on this election is against the principle of `no retroactive application' of the law. The DPP is only using the proposal to delay the recount, but we demand an immediate recount," he said.
But like the DPP's plan, the blue camp's proposal said the amendment should apply to the presidential election this year.
Liao said the pan-blue camp made the proposal to make up for the lack of legal regulations regarding a recount.
He said a recount could take place as soon as the CEC decided on it, adding the CEC has the power to proceed with a recount.
The DPP caucus later rejected the claim by pointing out that there was no law that bestowed such power on the CEC.
Liao chaired the Procedure Committee session yesterday. He refused to consider the DPP's proposal and dismissed the session.
He then headed for the exit, but not before getting into a fight with DPP Legislator Lin Feng-hsi (林豐喜).
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from