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.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
RSS