A petition calling for a referendum on forcing the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to return stolen assets to the national coffers will be sent to the government for review, as 83,000 signatures have been collected, making it a formal petition.
"If the petition is approved, we have to collect 830,000 signatures within six months to call a referendum," Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) said at a press conference yesterday.
The DPP lawmakers said they hoped the referendum could be held during the next legislative election in December next year.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Collecting signatures to call for the referendum is aimed at keeping the KMT from avoiding its obligation to return its assets to the nation and the people, Tsai said.
Considering that it took more than two months for DPP lawmakers to collect the first-stage 83,000 signatures, Tsai said it would not be easy to collect 10 times that number within the six-month time limit.
The KMT is scheduled to issue a report today on how the party has handled its assets. The KMT's rivals describe the assets -- which were acquired from the Japanese colonial government and private businesses and individuals when the KMT took control of Taiwan in 1945 -- as "stolen."
DPP Legislator Yen Wen-chung (
Yen said he suspected that the intention behind Ma's decision to issue a report on the party's assets was, "firstly, to shift responsibility for its shrinking assets to former chairman Lee Teng-hui (
also see story:
Assets report just a Ma makeover
NEW AGREEMENT: Malaysia approved imports last year after nearly two years of negotiations and inspections to meet quarantine requirements, officials said Up to 3.6 tonnes of pomeloes from Taiwan cleared Malaysian customs on Friday, in the first shipment of Taiwanese pomeloes to Malaysia. Taiwan-grown pomeloes are popular in domestic and overseas markets for their tender and juicy taste, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said. The fruit is already exported to Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines, it added. The agency began applying for access to the Malaysian market in 2023, compiling data on climate suitability, pests and diseases, and post-harvest handling, while also engaging in nearly two years of negotiations with Malaysian authorities and submitting supplementary
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
Tigerair Taiwan and China Airlines (CAL) today announced that several international flights were canceled or rescheduled due to Typhoon Ragasa. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has maintained sea and land warnings for the typhoon. Its storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan's southern tip at 11am today. Tigerair Taiwan said it canceled Monday's IT551/IT552 Taoyuan-Da Nang, IT606/IT607 Taoyuan-Busan and IT602 Taoyuan-Seoul Incheon flights. Tomorrow, cancelations include IT603 Seoul Incheon-Taoyuan, as well as flights between Taoyuan and Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Saga, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Asahikawa and Jeju. On Wednesday, the IT321/IT322 Kaohsiung-Macau round-trip would also be canceled. CAL announced that today's
Three tropical depressions yesterday intensified into tropical storms, with one likely to affect Taiwan as a typhoon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The three storms, named Mitag, Ragasa and Neoguri, were designated as storms No. 17 to 19 for this year, the CWA said. Projected routes indicate that Ragasa is most likely to affect Taiwan, it said. As of 2am today, Ragasa was 1,370km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) on the southernmost tip of Taiwan. It was moving west-northwest before turning northwest, slowing from 11kph to 6kph, the agency said. A sea warning for Ragasa is unlikely before Sunday afternoon, but its outer rim
RSS