Political parties could abuse the issue of a referendum on unification or independence, a ruling party lawmaker warned.
"Highlighting the unification or independence topic has made the referendum legislation a tool for political tactics by political parties, rather than a real hope to improve the insufficiency of the representative system of a democracy," DPP Legislator Wang Tuoh (王拓) said.
The pan-blue camp's turnabout from constant resistance to a referendum to shouting out the need to finalize the legislation soon, as well as the ruling party's u-turn from a low-key attitude towards a referendum on the unification or independence issue to vowing to hold the Fourth Nuclear Plant referendum at all costs, impressed the public like a NBA game, Wang said.
"The truth is, however, that the majority of people are content to maintain the status quo on Taiwan at the moment. Their voices in support of drafting a referendum law must not necessarily be seen as an endorsement for a unification or independence referendum to be held now.
"They understand that declaring independence or unification might be risky for the country right now," Wang said.
But the pan-blue members might not agree with Wang's opinions.
"The DPP should implement a referendum on the unification or independence topic along with the nuclear issue right after the Legislative Yuan finalizes the legal formulation, since the independence of Taiwan and abandoning nuclear energy have been the DPP's ultimate goals for years," KMT legislative whip Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻) said when he commented on the DPP draft referendum bill on Monday.
The DPP, under the leadership of President Chen Shui-bian (
"The late DPP chairman Huang Hsin-chieh (
Sisy Chen, a former member of the DPP who turned around to side with the pan-blue camp, challenged the DPP for breaking down one of its founding objectives of pursuing the country's final independence by holding referendums.
The ruling party's reservations over elaborating on its hope to include the unification or independence issue in the referendum legislation exemplified its abandoning of Huang's convictions, Sisy Chen said.
She referred to a remark by Huang when the late statesman addressed the public in the US in 1988.
The former DPP chairman told the public at that time that certain matters, such as realizing Taiwan's independence, should be tried without public propaganda. Other issues, such as the hope of unification with China, would be a better political slogan than a real action.
The DPP has moved away from what Huang believed in, Sisy Chen said.
"The DPP proposes a defensive referendum scheme in the referendum legislation. A defensive referendum, requested by the president and needing to be approved by the Cabinet, would take place and demonstrate the people's response if Taiwan ever encounters any attack," DPP legislative leader Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said, refering to a final draft bill to be presented by the ruling party this week.
Chen Chi-mai promised that the final copy will exclude wording about a unification or independence referendum.
Another way adopted by the DPP to divert the public's concerns was drumming up support for referendums to expedite Taiwan's parliamentary reforms.
"We ask for an advisory referendum scheme to provide a legal basis for people to express their hopes of pushing for legislative reforms and demanding the legislature to work for it," said DPP Legislator Chen Chin-de (陳金德) when he unveiled DPP contentions about the referendum law.
But for some other people, the DPP was not the only party vague on the unification or independence controversy.
Political commentator Lee Hsiao-feng (李筱峰) expressed his confusion over the pan-blue camp's change in stance.
"KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) always warned that a referendum will bring disaster to Taiwan. That confused me because I don't understand how people in a democracy wanting to express their opinion on the fate of the country would necessitate a security warning," Lee said.
"I was then confused by the sudden change in the pan-blue's stance when I heard that the KMT legislative caucus proposed that a referendum on unification or independence should take place alongside the nuclear referendum in August," he said.
"I am still puzzled by the alliance's latest conclusion that they will refuse to legitimize such a topic in the referendum legislation. The pan-blue's hypothesis that a referendum on the topic will endanger Taiwan's security is contradictory to their conviction that pro-independence members are in the minority in this country, he said.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS