Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Lin I-hsiung (林義雄) has established a new foundation to promote amending the Referendum Act (公民投票法), the Civil Servant Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) and the Constitution so that “Taiwanese people could determine their own fate through a democratic process.”
The People Rule Foundation (人民作主教育基金會) plans to launch its first official event — a march around the nation — in September, beginning in the eastern counties of Taitung and Hualien, the foundation said in its mission statement issued yesterday.
The foundation said that, more than 20 years after the nation’s transformation into a democracy, Taiwanese have found that democracy remains “fragile and incomplete,” as people cannot determine their own futures, and the ones in power have kept that from happening — so their power would be consolidated.
The foundation said that was why it has listed three goals as its mission, including amending the Referendum Act and lowering the high threshold related to national referendums.
The Civil Servant Election and Recall Act is also a target for reform, as it prevents the financially challenged from participating in politics; keeps smaller parties from winning legislative seats and makes recalling incompetent legislators almost impossible.
The foundation said that the nation’s Constitution should be amended because it “no longer fits the need of modern Taiwanese society,” with a poorly designed central government system, an electoral system that favors larger political parties and a design that exacerbates imbalanced development between the cities and rural areas.
“We will try to develop the people’s shared values that they be the master of the country by practicing nonviolent activities... Taiwan’s democracy can be strengthened and deepened only when its people are able to be the final decisionmakers on major policies,” the foundation said.
Officially established on July 4, Independence Day in the US, the foundation said it reflects Taiwanese determination of their pursuit of independence and liberty.
In the upcoming round-the-nation march, participants are to march silently without waving flags or using loudspeakers, the foundation said.
Lin, a lifelong antinuclear and democracy advocate, made his first public appearance — an event organized by the foundation in New Taipei City’s Tamsui (淡水) on Saturday — since he was briefly hospitalized after a seven-day hunger strike against the government’s pro-nuclear policy in late April.
Lin went into a hiatus in his hometown of Yilan County until Saturday.
He has organized at least four round-the-nation marches previously — in 1994, 1997, 2002 and 2009 — for promoting an antinuclear campaign and civil participation in cross-strait negotiations.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
The nation’s usually punctual high-speed rail system yesterday was hit by major disruptions after all scheduled services were canceled and replaced with three hourly trains offering only non-reserved seating, affecting more than 200,000 passengers. Preliminary findings indicate the disruption was caused by a faulty power module in a track switch control cabinet, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) said, adding that as a full system inspection could only be conducted after operations end for the day, a decision on whether normal service would resume today would be announced before the first train departs. During a routine inspection early yesterday, a switch signal abnormality
RSS