The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday voted down the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus’ motion to give a second reading to a bill to amend the Referendum Act (公民投票法), proposed by a KMT lawmaker who said his version is based on a previous proposal by the DPP.
KMT legislative caucus convener Sufin Siluko (廖國棟) yesterday morning said that the KMT would propose to give the bill a second reading, adding that the party had to seek alternatives due to the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee dragging its feet.
Sufin said that if the bill was passed yesterday, a referendum on lifting the ban on imports of food products produced in Japanese prefectures surrounding the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant could be held in the second half of next year.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
The announcement came after KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) launched a campaign calling for a referendum to ask the public whether it supports a proposal to ease the nation’s ban on imports from the five Japanese prefectures.
The government had been rumored to consider lifting the bans on food imports from Fukushima Prefecture, reportedly due to political pressure.
The proposed amendment, motioned by KMT Legislator Alex Fai (費鴻泰), seeks to lower the signature threshold from 0.5 percent to 0.01 percent of the electorate to initiate a referendum proposal, lower the threshold to put a referendum proposal to a vote from 5 percent to 1 percent of the electorate and deciding on the outcome of the vote by a simple majority among more than a quarter of the electorate.
The lowering of the thresholds has also been the DPP’s and the New Power Party’s aim, but Fai’s version also proposes to have a referendum proposal initiated with the signatures of at least a quarter of the 113 lawmakers, which could be achieved with the KMT’s 35 seats at the legislature.
The DPP and the People First Party (PFP) legislative caucuses both voted down the KMT’s proposal.
DPP legislative caucus whip Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) said that the party, while in favor of lowering the referendum threshold, wanted the draft amendments to be reviewed by the committee first.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said “a quarter of lawmakers” means the KMT caucus, which is less than one-third of the total, would be able to initiate a referendum proposal whenever it wants, “which would only give way to chaos.”
PFP legislative caucus convener Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said the party is against the proposal, as lowering the threshold would make referendums easy to hold and could lead to a waste of public resources as well as hampering governmental efficiency.
Committee convener Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) said the committee had made plans to review the draft amendments this month at the latest, adding that the DPP should not put emphasis on the KMT’s proposal.
It is probably a side effect of the KMT’s infighting over the party chairperson election in July next year, Chao said.
Additional Reporting by Alison Hsiao
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS