Half of the nation's voters are unaware that the election of National Assembly representatives will be held on May 14, and as many as 82 percent are confused about the stance of political parties on constitutional reform, according to a poll released yesterday.
The survey, commissioned by Taiwan Advocates, has led academics to wonder if the constitutional amendments might not be viable in the current political climate.
Around 33 percent said the "single-member district, two-vote system" neglected the voices of minority groups and that the new electoral system would only benefit the major parties.
About 82 percent said the amendments should be voted for individually. Only 8.5 percent supported voting for amendments as a single package.
The amendments include a downsizing bill that would cut the number of legislative seats from 225 to 113 from 2008, and extend legislative terms from three to four years. The bill also proposes a new electoral system known as the "single-member district, two-vote system" to replace the existing "multi-member district, single-vote system."
The third bill would make the Referendum Law (
Shih Cheng-feng (施正鋒), a professor at Tamkang University's department of public administration, said he was surprised that so many people were unaware of the details of the election, and he urged former Democratic Progressive Party chairman Lin I-hsiung (林義雄) -- the leader of the Nuke-4 Referendum Initiative Association, a leading advocate of constitutional reforms -- to explain the reasons for promoting constitutional reform.
"Revising the Constitution is not only an issue of integrity but also an important issue that impacts on the stability of the system of governance," Shih said. "However, many civic groups followed Lin's views without understanding the significance of the reforms, and most legislators dared not oppose their appeals for fear they would be accused of being `anti-reform.' So the constitutional amendments were passed in a hasty manner last August."
"The amendments don't necessarily suit the current political climate, and the `single-member district, two-vote system' is a good example of the development of small parties being thwarted," he said.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition