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.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he