The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) over the weekend launched a signature drive to recall President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), citing the nation’s deteriorating fiscal condition and struggling economy.
Taiwan Solidarity Union caucus whip Huang Wen-ling (黃文玲) said the party aimed to collect more than 1 million signatures by May and then formally present the petition after Ma finishes the first year of his four-year second term on May 20.
The Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act (總統副總統選舉罷免法) stipulates that a president or vice president who has not yet served for one year may not be recalled.
Petition stations will be set up across the nation to collect signatures, TSU Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) said, adding that after it has collected the signatures, the party would ask all district legislators whether they would obey “the people’s will [as shown through the signature drive] or Ma’s opinions?”
By doing this the party aims to sift out elected representatives who ignore the voice of the public and shield an incompetent government, Huang Kun-huei said. He added that the party would simultaneously gather all lawmakers’ performance records in the legislature and find out who had been siding with the government’s poor policies.
If needed, a survey could also be conducted to cross-reference the public’s opinion of lawmakers’ performances, he said.
The party would then move to launch a recall of poorly performing lawmakers as a precursor to recalling Ma, Huang Kun-huei said.
He said the balance of power in the legislature, where the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) currently holds a majority, would be changed if three to five KMT lawmakers lost their seats.
“With an approval rate of only 13 percent, Ma still fails to engage in introspection and review his ill-conceived policies,” Huang Kun-huei said. “Can Taiwan afford to have him sit in office for another four years, all the while seeing the nation making no progress?”
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would severely threaten the national security of the US, Japan, the Philippines and other nations, while global economic losses could reach US$10 trillion, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) wrote in an article published yesterday in Foreign Affairs. “The future of Taiwan is not merely a regional concern; it is a test of whether the international order can withstand the pressure of authoritarian expansionism,” Lin wrote in the article titled “Taiwan’s Plan for Peace Through Strength — How Investments in Resilience Can Deter Beijing.” Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) intent to take Taiwan by force
RSS