A national referendum may be the only way to address Taiwan's national identity problem, but referendums should not be introduced simply to meet that end, international referendum experts said yesterday.
Five such experts yesterday talked about their experiences with these democratic mecha-nisms at the International Symposium on Initiatives, Referendums and Direct Democracy in Taipei.
The government is drafting a referendum law (公投法) following President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) announcement that referendums on certain issues will be conducted simultaneously with next year's presidential election.
The international experts have consulted with government officials on how to draft the law.
While applauding the government's enthusiasm to introduce referendums to the country, they cautioned that proper referendum rules and procedures have to be established first.
The experts expressed concern about the possibility of holding a referendum to decide Taiwan's national identity, a move that is believed to favor the ideals of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the pro-independence Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU).
The referendum process has an important role to play in determining state identity and independence, said Theo Schiller, professor of political science at Marburg University in Germany.
"But I cannot recommend that the Taiwanese people introduce referendums in order to make a decision about independence. I can only say if this country must approach a decision on independence, it should only be on the basis of the referendum process," Schil-ler said.
Referendums, when applied to important issues such as the fundamental existence of a country, should not become a process to polarize the country, but should be carried out to build consensus and unity, Schiller said.
Dane Waters, president of the US Initiative and Referendum Institute, said that the government needs to consider "what tools we can use to make the people more sovereign and ensure their sovereign rights" when drafting the referendum law.
"Many people believe Taiwan's national identity issue can be addressed through a referendum. That may be true. However, we also have to discuss how to empower the citizens and fully undertake the endeavor by putting in place proper rules and procedures to let it happen," Waters said.
He said Taiwan can set an example for other Asian countries by bringing referendums to its people.
Usually it is the people who call for a referendum -- it is extremely rare that a government takes the initiative to carry out referendums.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP), which are more pro-China, have responded positively toward the introduction of referendums.
But their embracing of referendums is only lip-service, Joseph Wu (
The government has proposed non-binding or consultative referendums, but Bruno Kaufmann, president of Europe's Initiative and Referendum Institute, said the government should rather consider introducing binding referendums.
Some governments do not like initiatives and referendums, because these processes are usually initiated by dissatisfied citizens. In these cases the referendums tend to be non-binding, because the government wants the freedom to make the final decision, Kaufmann said.
The role of the media in educating the public about referendums is also a vital part of the processes, Andreas Gross, a member of the Swiss parliament and vice president of the Council of Europe, said.
"Direct democracy is about communication," he said.
One of the most important referendum issues in Taiwan is whether to continue the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. Adrian Schmid, former chairman of Switzerland's Green Party, talked about how nuclear power issues have been handled by referendums in Denmark, Austria, Belgium, Italy and other European countries.
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