Lawmakers yesterday passed an amendment to the Referendum Act (公民投票法) to decouple referendums from national elections.
The amended act stipulates that referendums are to be held on the fourth Saturday of August once every two years, starting in 2021.
The amendment was passed after lawmakers earlier in the day approved a proposal by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) and 66 others to hold a provisional session from yesterday through July 5 to review proposed amendments and laws.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
A procedural committee meeting was held at noon, followed by the first plenary session in the afternoon.
Plenary sessions are to be held today and tomorrow, with a second round of sessions to be held on Thursday, Friday and Thursday next week.
A third round is to be held on Friday next week and from July 1 to 5.
DPP lawmakers, who hold the legislative majority, ensured that voting at the committee meeting gave priority to dealing with proposed changes to the Referendum Act, the National Security Act (國家安全法), the Act for Industrial Innovation (產業創新條例), the Agricultural Products Market Transaction Act (農產品市場交易法) and the Food Administration Act (糧食管理法).
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general John Wu (吳志揚) had previously condemned the referendum bill’s advancement to the legislative floor after the DPP caucus on May 17 sent the proposal by DPP Legislator Chiang Chieh-an (蔣絜安) to a second reading without undergoing a committee review.
KMT lawmakers were holding a news conference on same-sex marriage bills at the time.
Chiang’s version included a clause that would have required people to present photocopies of their national ID cards when signing referendum petitions.
The requirement has faced opposition from several sectors of society, including the KMT, which has said it would be contravene democratic principles.
The DPP caucus had argued that the requirement would prevent bogus signatures and the names of dead people being used.
However, it agreed to remove the clause and said it would ask the Central Election Commission to deal with the issue of fake signatures, Ker said.
The commission should set up systems to identify and remove fake signatures, and to collect electronic signatures, he added.
Decoupling the referendums from national elections would help prevent a recurrence of long lines, slow voting and delayed results that occurred during the Nov. 24 elections last year, when 10 referendums were held alongside local elections, Ker said.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
RSS