Print

Mail

wiki links

Cabinet `not pessimistic' about referendum stance

With the Cabinet scheduled to announce today whether it will file a motion to overturn part of the just-passed Referendum Law (公民投票法), Cabinet Spokesman Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday that he is "not pessimistic" about wining the backing of the legislature.

"It's too early to tell whether the legislature will endorse our request. We're not pessimistic about it although the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] does not enjoy a majority in the legislature," Lin said.

The Cabinet is scheduled to invite high-ranking officials from the Presidential Office, DPP headquarters and the DPP legislative caucus to discuss whether to overturn the referendum legislation today. If the Cabinet rejects the law, it will have to decide whether to overturn the entire legislation or just certain articles.

The Cabinet has hinted it would prefer to overturn certain clauses of the legislation such as those governing the legislature's right to initiate a referendum, people's right to repeal constitutional amendments and the establishment of a Referendum Review Committee.

Minister without Portfolio Hsu Chih-hsiung (許志雄), assigned by Premier Yu Shyi-kun to study the legislation and propose possible solutions, said yesterday that the legislation is flawed.

"Among them is the deprivation of the citizenry's right to initiate constitutional amendments, although they can petition to overturn constitutional amendments," he said.

In addition, the function of the Referendum Review Committee overlaps with that of the legislature.

"Its establishment is totally unnecessary because the legislation is enacted to let the people exercise their right of direct democracy and complement the representative system," he said.

Nor does it make any sense to deny the Cabinet the right to initiate a referendum, including an advisory one, Hsu said.

Despite Lin's optimism, the People First Party (PFP) and the Independent Alliance vowed to reject the Cabinet's request.

PFP Legislator Chin Hui-chu (秦慧珠) said the PFP would consider returning the Cabinet's request.

"The Cabinet should overturn the entire legislation if it deems the law hard to implement," she said. "We do not rule out the possibility of returning its request if it opts for overturning just certain articles."

PFP legislative whip Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) said it is illegitimate for the Cabinet to overturn parts of the legislation.

"While 22 countries have referendum legislation, most of them empower their parliaments rather than governments to initiate a referendum," Chou said.

Echoing the PFP's argument, Chiu Chuang-liang (邱創良), convener of the Independent Alliance, said the alliance's opposition to overturning certain articles does not necessarily mean that they endorse a particular party in the presidential poll.

Responding to the opposition's threat, DPP caucus whip Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said it would be unconstitutional if the opposition bloc refuses to vote on the Cabinet's request.

The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), the DPP's tiny ally, was evasive yesterday about its stance on the legislation.

"We'll discuss the issue during Monday's Central Executive Committee meeting," TSU Legislator Chen Chien-ming (陳建銘) said.

Chen, however, said that he personally preferred holding a referendum on the Referendum Law.
This story has been viewed 1519 times.