President Chen Shui-bian (
"Had it known it would make such a decision, it should not have opposed it [the voting procedure] in the first place," Chen said.
Chen said there had always only been one voting format, which was the one-step announced by the Central Election Commission (CEC).
Under the one-step voting procedure, voters will receive two ballots for the legislative elections and two referendum ballots upon entering the polling station and then cast them into four different boxes.
The KMT, however, had insisted on using a two-step voting system, under which voters would first cast their legislative election ballots before picking up the referendum ballots.
In an attempt to put an end to the political wrangling, CEC Chairman Chang Cheng-hsiung (張政雄) said on Thursday that it would allow voters to follow the two-step voting procedure as long as local commissions set up polling stations in line with the setup used in the one-step voting format.
Although the KMT initially rejected the idea, it reversed its decision following a meeting between the KMT and pan-blue local government heads.
The KMT claimed that local government heads had agreed to accept the compromise to end the dispute, which had caused turmoil and confusion among front-line election personnel.
Despite the criticism, Chen yesterday said he was grateful the KMT was willing to end the dispute, as it had engendered much controversy in the past month.
Chen made the remarks yesterday morning while campaigning for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative candidate Chien Chao-tung (簡肇棟) in Taichung County.
Meanwhile, Cabinet Secretary-General Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) yesterday said the KMT should apologize to the public for causing so much trouble over the past month, despite its recent change of heart.
Chen Chin-jun said it was a victory for the people because more than 70 percent of the public surveyed in a recent poll said they supported the one-step system.
The Cabinet would continue to monitor the attitude of local election commissions and will "remove all obstructions" if they fail to abide by the CEC decision, he said.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
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