The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed amendments to the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), which lawmakers said returned the power to recall elected officials to the public after it was previously withheld due to high thresholds.
The act prior to amendment stipulated that for officials to be recalled more than half of eligible voters must ratify the proposal and at least half must then vote for the recall.
The amendment dropped the threshold for recall petitions from 2 percent of voters within the elected official’s constituency to 1 percent, while the number of signatures supporting the proposal was cut from 13 percent to 10 percent.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The amount of votes supporting the recall must reach at least a quarter of the original voting population of the constituency, down from half, with at least half voting for the recall.
The amendment also lifted the restrictions on campaign events, with all expenses occurred being tax-deductible. In addition, the restriction that a recall vote could not be held alongside another vote was removed.
The amendment also doubled the number of days for gathering petitions for the recall votes to 60 days for mayors and county commissioners, 40 days for county and city councilors and township mayors, and 20 days for township representatives and borough wardens.
Lawmakers had been divided on whether to retain a threshold for a recall vote, with the New Power Party (NPP) submitting a proposal to do away with such a limitation and adopt a “majority vote.”
The Legislative Yuan finally passed a version agreed upon by the People First Party (PFP) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which retained a threshold of a quarter of the original voting population of the constituency to guard against abuse of the recall system.
DPP lawmakers hailed the amendment as progress toward direct democracy, while Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers said the DPP might reap what it sowed should the government’s performance fail to satisfy the public.
DPP Legislator Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said the NPP’s version would have caused no end of strife due to officials being recalled over every misstep, adding that the lowering of the thresholds would make it easier for voters to exercise their right to recall officials.
The DPP administration would suffer the side-effects of such legislation in years to come, KMT Legislator Lin Te-fu (林德福) said, adding that the party would have to take responsibility for all the policies implemented by a DPP-led legislature.
There have already been calls to recall DPP Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), Lin said.
Whether the DPP has harmed its own interests by amending the law remains to be seen, Lin added.
PFP Legislator Chen Yi-chieh (陳怡潔) said the public must have the rights to vote and recall, and the PFP supports the amendment, adding that any recall, so long as it is not politically motivated or based a sense of retribution, would be a good thing.
NPP Legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said that despite the amendments not meeting the party’s expectations, it is a step in the right direction.
The NPP supported removing all of the thresholds as it felt that a simple majority would be the best method that represents public opinion, Hsu said.
Any form of threshold protects elected officials and infringes upon people’s rights, Hsu said.
The Project Appendectomy movement, which unsuccessfully sought to recall several KMT lawmakers following the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, issued a statement thanking the Legislative Yuan, saying that the amendment was not only a victory for the movement, but also “a victory for the people and a significant milestone for Taiwan’s democracy.”
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
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
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