In a bid to lend substance to an otherwise ethereal provision of the Constitution, the legislature yesterday reviewed the draft Initiative and Referendum law (
The legislature's Home and Nations, Judicial and Organic Laws and Statutes committees yesterday jointly reviewed three draft proposals of the law, which would institute a procedure for citizens to establish a new Constitution if it passes muster with the legislature.
According to Article 17 of the Constitution, the people shall have the right of election, recall, initiative and referendum, while Article 136 states that the exercise of the rights of initiative and referendum shall be prescribed by law.
The three proposals, submitted by the Executive Yuan and DPP Legislator Chen Chin-de (
The Executive Yuan's proposal states that the Ministry of the Interior is entitled to set up a committee to review referendum applications, to the exclusion of diplomatic, military, national security, budget, and social welfare policies.
Independent Legislator Sisy Chen (
"The country would be totally shut down if this proposal becomes law," Chen said at the meeting.
Chen argued that important policies of major national concern, such as the inauguration of nuclear power plants, could be abandoned as citizens would be entitled to hold referendums over any construction project which they disliked.
Minister of the Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (余政憲) gave no answer to PFP Legislator Chou Hsi-wei's (周錫偉) question about the standards the ministry's committee would use to approve a referendum.
DPP Legislator Lin Cho-shui (
"We should use the law to solve problems that can't be solved by the existing administrative and legislative system," Lin said.
He added that the law would provide a framework for citizens to establish a new Constitution, should they wish to do so.
A similar idea was expressed by former president Lee Teng-hui (
The meeting failed to complete the review yesterday, but the three committees are expected to schedule another review. Another referendum law proposal, submitted by DPP Legislator Trong Chai (蔡同榮) was boycotted by the pan-blue camp last week, which said the bill would upset China.
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