In a rare moment of cross-party cooperation, legislators across party lines yesterday lashed out at the chairman of the Central Election Committee (CEC) after he weighed in on when a new legislative redistricting plan should take effect.
CEC Chairman Chang Cheng-hsiung (張政雄) said that if a no-confidence vote toppled the Cabinet and the president then decided to dissolve the legislature and hold snap elections, new legislative districts drawn up by the CEC should be used in that election -- even if the plan had not received legislative approval.
"If the redistricting plan for the [next] legislative election fails to pass during the current legislative term, the next legislative election should be conducted in accordance with the plan the CEC drafted," Chang said yesterday when briefing legislators on the plan.
Under constitutional amendments passed last June, the number of legislative seats will be halved to 113 from the current 225 seats, and a "single member, two vote" district electoral system will be implemented to replace multiple-member districts.
At least half of the legislature will lose their seats under the new system, and lawmakers from small parties are considered especially vulnerable.
Lawmakers demanded that the CEC file a request for a constitutional interpretation about the matter.
The CEC-drafted redistricting plan for the next legislative election was put onto the special session's agenda in light of the pan-blue camp's plan to hold a no-confidence vote in the premier in the next legislative session, if the president does not resign before then. The next session begins on Sept. 19.
In accordance with the Constitution, the president can choose to dissolve the legislature if a no-confidence vote ousts the premier.
Chang said the election would have to be conducted under a new format in keeping with the constitutional amendments passed by the now-defunct National Assembly last June.
But legislators who favor the current system disagreed with Chang.
"Before the new [redistricting] system is enacted [by the legislature], surely the current system should remain effective," People First Party (PFP) Legislator Feng Ting-kuo (馮定國) said.
The plan yesterday passed its preliminary review in the legislature's Home and Nations Committee, which concluded that the CEC must file a request for a constitutional interpretation on the dispute.
"The committee decided that the CEC has no authority to decide whether a new system or the current system should be used [in the event of snap elections]. The CEC must form a special task force to deal with possible scenarios in the aftermath of the Cabinet's dissolution," said PFP Legislator Chang Hsien-yao (
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
RSS