While absentee voting has been widely implemented in a number of countries, political analysts acknowledged that adopting such a system in Taiwan needs careful consideration given the potential pitfalls and political repercussions.
Based on a study conducted by the legislature's Research Bureau in December 2003, more than 20 nations, including Japan and South Korea, allow absentee voting.
Arguing that this is a growing trend, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) recently proposed a bill which details the process for absentee voting.
This is the KMT's third attempt to push forward a bill to promote the system after failing twice in the past, ie, before the 2002 Taipei and Kaohsiung municipal elections and the 2004 presidential elections.
"Absentee voting is a good system as it guarantees the right to vote. Sooner or later, it will be introduced in Taiwan, just like the referendum," said Chen Yen-hui (陳延輝), a professor at National Taiwan Normal University's Graduate Institute of Political Science.
The problem, however, is the consequence of implementing such a system, Chen said.
Previous discussions to enact an absentee voting law have been stone-walled by pan-green legislators, who believe the system would favor the pan-blues during elections.
Voters that are likely to take advantage of an absentee voting system include China-based Taiwanese businesspeople, military personnel, police and overseas government officials -- a majority of whom are traditionally deemed as supporters of the pan-blue camp.
In this regard, what the pan-greens support is a system in which only domestic voters can apply for absentee ballots, to preclude overseas absentee voters from playing a critical role in elections which have shown a trend of narrowing the green-blue divide.
"It's too early to predict which party will benefit from an absentee voting system as various factors determine the outcome of elections," Chen said.
Citing Germany as an example, Chen said that as Berlin is not allowed to set up polling booths in Switzerland, Germans living there often encounter difficulties posting their ballots back home.
Chen said that Taiwanese living in China might experience similar problems.
"Just like Germany -- with most of its overseas nationals living in Switzerland -- most of Taiwan's overseas nationals live in China ... not to mention that China is an unfriendly country to Taiwan," he said.
Although an absentee voting system may be established in theory, ensuring that Taiwanese absentee voters in China will not be forced to vote against their will and be able to mail their ballots back home are practical problems that have to be dealt with, he said.
Chi Chun-chen (
"Worries over China should not be a factor in depriving the public of the right to vote -- a basic human right. It is believed that no more than 200,000 taishang [overseas Taiwanese businesspeople] would apply for absentee ballots, a small portion considering a total of 16 million eligible voters," Chi said.
The Straits Exchange Foundation, a semi-official organization handling cross-strait matters, places the figure at approximately 1 million Taiwanese businesspeople living and working in China.
Another possible consequence of the absentee voting system is that vote-buying, which has long marred Taiwan's elections, could intensify, said Hung Yung-tai (
Absentee voting corrupts the secret ballot because an absentee ballot may be open for anyone to see, he said.
Vote-buying could become even more prevalent as vote-buyers can check and see absentee voters "stamp the name of the candidate right in front of them" or ask absentee voters "to make a copy of their filled-in ballots" to prove that they voted as directed, Hung said.
If the system is adopted, the law may specify conditions in which voters are allowed to apply for absentee ballots, Hung said.
Hung warned though that voters who do not qualify may still find it easy to obtain absentee ballots.
"It's not hard for voters to demonstrate that they live in the counties and cities outside of where their registered residences are," Hung said. "They can move registered residences or give false addresses. It would be difficult for electoral officials to check out their qualifications."
UNDER WATCH: Taiwan will have to establish a standardized nucleic acid testing method to identify the virus and monitor its spread, the CDC said The Langya henipavirus, which can be transmitted from animals to humans, has been discovered in China, with 35 human infections reported so far, Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said, adding that the nation would establish a nucleic acid testing method to identify the virus. A study titled “A Zoonotic Henipavirus in Febrile Patients in China” that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday said that a new henipavirus associated with a fever-causing human illness was identified in China. The study said an investigation identified 35 patients with acute infection of the Langya henipavirus in China’s Shandong
MISSILE PATHS: Certain information on the Chinese missile fire was not disclosed to maintain secrecy over military intelligence-gathering capabilities, the MND said Military experts yesterday speculated on the implication of the government’s tight-lipped response and the lack of air-raid sirens during the first day of China’s military drills the previous day. On Thursday, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched 11 Dongfeng-series ballistic missiles into waters north, east and south of Taiwan, a day after US House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s departure from the country, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. The Japanese Ministry of Defense said that China fired nine missiles toward Taiwan, including four that flew over Taiwan proper. However, China’s exhibition of force failed to terrorize the local populace, because
If any war were to break out between the US and China, one trigger might be the increasingly frequent fighter jet encounters near Taiwan. Almost every day, Taiwanese fighter pilots hop in their US-made F-16s to intercept Chinese warplanes screaming past their territory. The encounters probe the nation’s defenses and force the pilots on both sides to avoid mistakes that could lead to a crisis that spins out of control. “I didn’t know whether they would fire at me,” said retired colonel Mountain Wang, recounting a tense five-minute confrontation he had with Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) jets more than a decade
INCREASINGLY EMBOLDENED: China can no longer be dismissed as inexperienced, demonstrating an ability to coordinate land and sea missile systems, an expert said Beijing’s largest-ever exercises around Taiwan have offered essential clues into its plans for a grueling blockade in the event of an attack on Taiwan, and revealed an increasingly emboldened Chinese military, experts said. The visit to Taiwan by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi — second in line to the presidency — sparked outrage from Beijing, which launched vast military maneuvers around the nation, even at the risk of partially exposing its plans to the US and its Asian allies. Mobilizing fighter planes, helicopters and warships, the drills aim to simulate a blockade of Taiwan and include practicing an “attack on