Cabinet to decide on Referendum Law Monday next week

The Cabinet is scheduled to decide next Monday whether to file a motion to overturn the just-passed Referendum Law (公民投票法).

If the Cabinet rejects the law, it will have to decide whether to overturn the entire legislation or just certain articles.

"Premier Yu Shyi-kun today assigned Minister without Portfolio Hsu Chih-hsiung (許志雄) to study the legislation and propose possible solutions. A meeting among the Cabinet, Presidential Office and legislative whips will be called on Monday to make the final decision," Cabinet Spokesman Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a press conference after the weekly closed-door Cabinet meeting yesterday.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) proposed that the Cabinet "seriously consider" overturning certain clauses of the legislation, including those governing the legislature's right to initiate a referendum, people's right to repeal constitutional amendments and the establishment of a Referendum Supervisory Committee.

Lin said that it would be legitimate for the government to overturn certain parts of the legislation.

"The Constitution mandates that the government can overturn a law or resolution passed by the legislature it deems difficult to implement with the approval of the president. It of course includes overturning the entire legislation or just part of it," Lin said.

It would not be the first time the government has overturned certain clauses of a piece of legislation, Lin added.

"The Cabinet has requested overturning parts of legislation eight times over the past 10 years, including the Organic Law of the Legislative Yuan (立法院組織法) in 1993, the Labor Standards Law (勞基法) in 1995 and the Law Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財劃法) in 2002," Lin said.

Lin also called on the opposition alliance not to get in the way of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) exercising his right to hold a "defensive referendum" as guaranteed by the Referendum Law.

"They're so full of inconsistency in their policies and I'm curious to know whether they consider the nation under threat from China," Lin said.

"At first, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) said that a `defensive referendum' was not necessary because the nation was not in immediate danger. Now they're campaigning to initiate a referendum similar to the `defensive referendum,'" he said.

As the nation has to respond to Beijing's continuous intimidation, Lin said, it is legitimate for Chen to initiate a "defensive referendum."

"It's in the best interest of the nation and is the best confidence-building measure and weapon," he said.