The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday announced that it had accepted the Central Election Commission's (CEC) compromise system which allows voters to follow a two-step voting procedure as long as tables and ballot boxes in polling stations are placed in accordance with the one-step voting format.
"We decided to accept the CEC's decision and hopefully our compromise will ensure the continuous development of Taiwan's democracy," KMT caucus whip Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) said at a press conference yesterday at KMT headquarters.
On Nov. 16 the CEC decided to adopt a one-step voting procedure for the Jan. 12 legislative election by which election and referendum ballots are both handed to voters at the entrance to polling stations.
But the 18 pan-blue-controlled cities and counties decided to adopt two-step voting, which would require voters to cast their election ballots before being allowed to cast referendum ballots.
In an attempt to end the wrangling, CEC Chairman Chang Cheng-hsiung (張政雄) announced on Thursday that it would allow voters to follow the two-step voting procedure as long as local commissions place tables for distributing ballots and voting boxes in line with the setup used in the one-step voting format in polling stations.
The compromise proposal, however, was initially rejected by the KMT, with Tseng saying that the proposal actually "followed the one-step framework."
On Thursday the government set about replacing local election commission heads defying the one-step voting system, with Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
The premier also appointed Hsinchu City Election Commission member Wu Chiu-ku (
The KMT's change of heart followed a meeting with pan-blue local government heads to discuss the issue yesterday. Tseng said the local government heads agreed to accept the compromise in order to end the dispute which has caused turmoil and confusion among front-line election personnel.
"If there are any disputes or confusion during the election, the Executive Yuan, DPP and the CEC should take full responsibility," Tseng said.
Tseng continued to defend the KMT's stance on the two-step voting system and said the CEC presented the compromise version because it had realized the flaws inherent in the one-step voting system.
The KMT's communication and cultural committee head Huang Yu-cheng (
Huang said the consensus was made to ensure the elections run smoothly and leave the DPP with no excuse to halt them.
Earlier yesterday, Government Spokesman Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) said the government was considering removing four more local election commission heads.
"Local election commissions will start printing election bulletins on Monday. Before then chairmen of local election commissions who still insist on using the two-step voting format will be removed," Shieh said.
Shieh confirmed yesterday that the government is dealing with a CEC request to replace the chairman of the Taichung City Election Commission, Hsiao Chia-chi (蕭家旗), who is also Taichung deputy mayor.
Despite the KMT about-face, Shieh said last night that local election commission heads still need to reassure the central government by tomorrow that they would adopt the one-step voting procedure -- otherwise the Executive Yuan would still replace them.
"It's questionable whether Tseng's remarks suggest that local election commission heads who originally insisted on using the two-step procedure will now change their stance as well," he said.
"Only when they [local election commission heads] make public statements [on their stance] can the nation's voting system beeensured and the electorate's rights be safeguarded," he said.
It would be rather "ridiculous" if local election commission heads listen to what the KMT asked them to do when they are supposed to operate independently, Shieh said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
CHAMPIONS: President Lai congratulated the players’ outstanding performance, cheering them for marking a new milestone in the nation’s baseball history Taiwan on Sunday won their first Little League Baseball World Series (LLBWS) title in 29 years, as Taipei’s Dong Yuan Elementary School defeated a team from Las Vegas 7-0 in the championship game in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It was Taiwan’s first championship in the annual tournament since 1996, ending a nearly three-decade drought. “It has been a very long time ... and we finally made it,” Taiwan manager Lai Min-nan (賴敏男) said after the game. Lai said he last managed a Dong Yuan team in at the South Williamsport in 2015, when they were eliminated after four games. “There is
Democratic nations should refrain from attending China’s upcoming large-scale military parade, which Beijing could use to sow discord among democracies, Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Shen You-chung (沈有忠) said. China is scheduled to stage the parade on Wednesday next week to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. The event is expected to mobilize tens of thousands of participants and prominently showcase China’s military hardware. Speaking at a symposium in Taichung on Thursday, Shen said that Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) recently met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a visit to New Delhi.
FINANCES: The KMT plan to halt pension cuts could bankrupt the pension fund years earlier, undermining intergenerational fairness, a Ministry of Civil Service report said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus’ proposal to amend the law to halt pension cuts for civil servants, teachers and military personnel could accelerate the depletion of the Public Service Pension Fund by four to five years, a Ministry of Civil Service report said. Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) on Aug. 14 said that the Act Governing Civil Servants’ Retirement, Discharge and Pensions (公務人員退休資遣撫卹法) should be amended, adding that changes could begin as soon as after Saturday’s recall and referendum. In a written report to the Legislative Yuan, the ministry said that the fund already faces a severe imbalance between revenue