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KMT sues Committee of Appeal

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus filed a malpractice lawsuit against the Cabinet's Committee of Appeal yesterday for ruling in favor of a Democratic Progressive Party proposal to hold a referendum on Taiwan's bid to join the UN using the name "Taiwan."

The Committee of Appeal last Wednesday overturned the ruling by the Cabinet's Referendum Review Committee, which had turned down the DPP's proposal late last month.

KMT Legislative caucus whip Hsu Shao-ping (徐少萍) said yesterday that it was "lawless and godless" for the Committee of Appeal to have accepted the DPP's appeal.

As the Administrative Procedure Act (行政訴訟法) stipulates that applicants who disagree with a Referendum Review Committee decision should file for administrative litigation in court rather than file a complaint with the Committee of Appeal, the latter should not have accepted the appeal, Hsu said.

"Even if the Committee of Appeal heard the complaint it should have refused to listen to it. Rather than overturn the ruling, it should have asked the Referendum Review Committee to reconsider the case," she said.

road to referendum

With the appeal granted, the DPP would be able to start its second-stage collection of signatures after the Central Election Commission has completed the verification of the 90,000 signatures obtained in the first stage.

In accordance with the Referendum Law (公民投票法), the DPP must collect at least 825,359 signatures -- or 5 percent of the nation's eligible voters -- within six months to make the referendum valid.

In response, Cabinet spokesman Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) yesterday asked that the KMT refrain from perpetuating hatred among Taiwanese by filing a lawsuit.

"I don't see how this could be good for anybody," Shieh said. "I sincerely hope that they [the KMT] will not peel off the scar and continue the hatred. It isbmeaningless to extend this issue by filing such a lawsuit against us."

"Filing the lawsuit against us will make no difference," he said. "They should really listen to the voice of all Taiwanese."

Meanwhile, DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun rejected criticism yesterday that holding a referendum on whether to join the UN under the name "Taiwan" would put sovereignty at stake.

He vowed to continue the UN campaign and hoped to see the referendum being held in tandem with one of next year's elections.

"Joining the UN with the name `Taiwan' represents the voice of the majority," Yu said. "Holding a referendum on the issue is a good way to send a signal out to the world."

sovereignty

Yu made the remarks in response to statements made by Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) before a press conference in Taipei yesterday.

In an interview with the Chinese-language China Times on Tuesday, Lu said that pushing for the UN referendum would put sovereignty at stake because a second referendum on the same topic cannot be held for a period of three years if the first one has failed.

Lu was quoted as saying that the administration should carefully assess the pros and cons of "using foreign affairs for electoral purposes."

Taking the country's first national referendum in 2004 as an example, Yu said yesterday that it had had a positive effect on the DPP in the presidential election. As a result, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) shifted its policy this year and supported holding referendums alongside next year's presidential election.

Yu said he welcomed the KMT's change of heart and hoped to see more political parties propose other referendum issues.

Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), on the other hand, said yesterday that Lu's reservations regarding the DPP's referendum proposal "made some sense."

"No one knows whether the referendum will succeed or fail, but what she said made some sense," Wang said when asked to comment on Lu's remarks.

As the referendum has to do with de jure independence, China would surely protest to the US, which in turn would have an impact on Taiwan-US relations, Wang said.

Additional reporting by Jimmy Chuang
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