The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and 18 pan-blue local government heads yesterday reaffirmed their commitment to adopting the "two-step voting" system used in the 2004 presidential election and warned the Central Election Committee (CEC) against breaking the law by cutting election budgets.
Accompanied by 18 pan-blue local government heads, KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (
"The two-step voting system is legal and reasonable. In order to make the election procedure run smoothly, the KMT will insist on the two-step voting system," Wu said at KMT headquarters after meeting with local government heads to discuss the issue.
The CEC announced last Friday that ballots for the Jan. 12 legislative elections and two referendums will be handed out together at the entrance to polling stations.
In response to the CEC's remarks that it will not provide subsidies to local governments that refused to adopt the one-step voting system, KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yi (吳敦義) said the commission's budget for the next fiscal year was allocated in accordance with the two-step voting system, and that the committee would be violating the law if it refused to give local governments money for the elections.
During the 2004 presidential election -- the first time a referendum and a national election were held simultaneously -- the ballots were handed out separately.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (
"We are here today to defend the democratic system and a fair electoral system," Hau said.
"As local government heads, we will not allow any confusion or chaos when votes are cast," he said.
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
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