The People First Party (PFP) legislative caucus yesterday urged people not to pick up their referendum ballots, saying that doing so "is also a means of voting."
The PFP legislative caucus' call was a rehashing of party Chairman James Soong's (
"All law-abiding citizens have the right to not pick up their referendum ballots, since the proposed referendum is illegal and there is already a national consensus about the two referendum questions," said PFP Legislator Hsieh Chang-chieh (
"Refusing to vote in the referendum and not picking up a ballot reflects the universal values and consensus among the citizens. We want to tell the public that law-abiding citizens should refuse to vote in the referendum and only pick up ballots for the presidential election," Hsieh said.
PFP legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (
"We will only try to make clear the illegality of the issue and leave the decision [of whether to pick up the ballots] to the voters. As for the Chinese Nationalist Party's [KMT's] decision regarding the referendum, we will respect whatever they decide for themselves," Liu said.
Commenting on the group of talk show hosts who expressed interest in participating in a debate regarding the proposed referendum a day earlier, PFP legislator Chen Chin-hsin (
The group forming the opposition team included independent Legislator Sisy Chen (陳文茜), writer Li Ao (李敖) and TV news program host Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康).
The Central Election Commission (CEC) is planning a series of 10 debates, five for each of the two questions on the referendum proposed by President Chen Shui-bian (
In view of the failure of the opposition KMT-PFP alliance legislative caucuses to present their lists of potential candidates for the debate to the CEC on Monday, a coalition of talk show hosts famous for their anti-Chen stance launched a signature drive on Tuesday, petitioning for the chance to play the voice of the opposition in the debates.
Chen Chin-hsin, who had been insisting that the alliance should take part in the debate as the opposition, acknowledged that the group's willingness to participate in the debate was a bonus for the pan-blue camp.
"The debate with Sisy Chen and the others arguing in opposition to the referendum questions will provide an opportunity for the general public to see how absurd Chen Shui-bian's proposed referendum is," Chen Chin-hsin said.
KMT Legislator Yu Tzu-shiang (
Stating that the debates are being held to argue over the substance of the two referendum questions, Yu said the alliance would not take part in the debates because "it has no different opinions with regard to the [two] questions."
According to Chin Heng-wei (
Sisy Chen, formerly the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) publicity chief, has now allied herself with the pan-blue camp and has been the driving force behind the pan-blue camp's publicity machine.
Li had run as the New Party's presidential candidate in the 2000 presidential election while Jaw, a former New Party legislator, had run an unsuccessful mayoral election against Chen Shui-bian during the 1994 Taipei mayoral race.
"For them to want to participate in the debate, they have to first accept the premise that Chen Shui-bian's proposed referendum is legal before they could engage in the debate in the first place," Chin said.
"In other words, the very fact that these people are eager to play the `negative side' of the debate suggests that their stance on Chen Shui-bian's planned referendum is not in sync with that of the pan-blue alliance, which has branded Chen Shui-bian's planned referendum illegal," he added.
The alliance has been insisting that Chen Shui-bian's proposal lacked a statutory basis and did not meet the criteria detailed in Article 17 of the Referendum Law (
Article 17 entitles the president to initiate a defensive referendum on national security issues "whenever the country is faced by an external threat that could interfere with national sovereignty."
Chen Shui-bian's two proposed questions will ask people whether they support enhancing the nation's defensive capabilities should China refuse to withdraw the missiles it has targeted at Taiwan, and whether or not the government should hold talks with China on cross-strait peace and stability.
In response to a query about whether the debates would have impact on the alliance's electoral outlook, as merely holding the series of debates could be construed as highlighting the DPP's advantages on the issue, Alex Tsai (
"The alliance has done quite a bit of research and polling on the issue of the referendum, and the results of our research tell us that the majority of the public is treating the referendum as an issue seperate from the presidential election," said Tsai.
"Given that, no matter how heated the issue of the referendum may become [as a result of the debates], it would not have much impact on the presidential election," he said.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or