The KMT and PFP legislative caucuses yesterday said that they would work to amend the Presi-dential and Vice Presidential Elec-tion and Recall Law (總統副總統選舉罷免法) in order to allowing overseas Taiwanese to cast absentee votes in next March's presidential election.
In the event that the law could not be amended in time for the March 20 election, KMT legislative whip Lee Chia-ching (李嘉進) said the caucuses would demand the government allow cross-strait charter flights so that China-based Taiwanese businesspeople would be able to return home in March to cast their votes.
Lee told a news conference that there are some 1 million registered voters now abroad, including approximate 500,000 businesspeople in China. He said the amendment would be a priority for the two caucuses in the new session.
"We hope our bid to amend the law will be successful [in the next session] in order to safeguard the voting rights of voters abroad and allow them to participate in the 2004 presidential election," said KMT Legislator Lee Chuan-chiao (
Saying that charter flights would ensure the fairness of the election by providing registered voters a convenient way to return home to vote, PFP legislative whip Chung Shao-ho (鍾紹和) urged the government to demonstrate its sincerity in safeguarding voters' basic rights.
DPP legislative whip Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) voiced his opposition to the idea of absentee ballots.
Chen said "the DPP caucus refuses to play the game with the KMT and PFP caucuses," until it could be assured an absentee-ballot system could be guaranteed free of vote-buying and that absentee voters were marking and mailing their own ballots of their own free will.
Citing Article 2 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution, which states that "overseas nationals may vote in the election for the president and vice president upon returning to the country," Chen said pushing for absentee-ballot system would require a constitutional amendment to delete the words "returning to the country."
Chen called the KMT and PFP caucuses' proposal for election-time charter flights "indulging in their wildest fantasies," and said that elections should not be lumped with direct transportation issues.
Chen also criticized the proposal as a pan-blue camp bid to curry favor ahead of the election.
TSU party whip Cheng Jhen-long (程振隆) yesterday said voting should be a voluntary act, not one influenced by man-made forces. He said the TSU was against the idea of operating charter flights to China to bring businesspeople back to vote.
Cheng said election-time charters could be seen as an attempt to buy votes.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it