After replacing two local election commission heads for breaches of regulations on the voting system to be used in the Jan. 12 legislative elections, Vice Premier Chiou I-jen (
"We hope the election will proceed smoothly and will not replace more local election commission heads," Chiou said.
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) approved requests by the Central Election Commission (CEC) to replace Taipei City Election Commission Chairman Samuel Wu (吳秀光) and Taichung City Election Commission Chairman Hsiao Chia-chi (蕭家旗).
PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FENG, TAIPEI TIMES
Executive Yuan spokesman Shieh Jhy-wey (
Chang on Monday also approved a request by the CEC to replace Taipei County Election Commissioner Teng Min-chih (鄧民治), but the premier decided yesterday to "defer" the decision.
The reverse came as Teng filed a complaint about his replacement, in which he said that his commission had decided to use one-step voting during a meeting on Monday morning and informed the CEC at 5:09pm via e-mail.
Shieh said the Executive Yuan did not receive the document, but accepted Teng's explanation.
The Central News Agency (CNA) has reported Teng as saying that the reversal of his replacement was a "correct" decision.
Regarding Hsiao, Shieh said that only when the former had informed the CEC via a formal electronic document would the Executive Yuan reconsider his replacement.
Hsiao told CNA he would inform the CEC of the decision his commission made on Monday afternoon, to the effect that it would use one-step voting.
"We were planning to let the CEC know [on Wednesday] because [Tuesday] was a national holiday," Hsiao said.
Wu made a concession yesterday by leaving the city commission meeting halfway and allowing commission members to pass the CEC's compromised voting system.
Acting chairman Tsai Tien-chi (蔡天啟) hosted the meeting and said that Taipei would adopt the CEC version, which allows voters to use two-step voting as long as the tables and voting boxes at polling stations are placed in accordance with the one-step voting format.
Wu, who refused to step down as chairman and insisted on adopting the two-step voting procedure, said he made the concession to ensure the elections would run smoothly.
After a two-hour meeting, Tsai said commission members had reached a consensus on following the CEC voting procedure, while agreeing to ask the CEC to explain the source of the laws regarding the legitimacy of Wu's replacement order.
Deputy commissioner Jason Yeh (葉傑生) said some members raised concerns over Wu's replacement and that the commission had agreed to ask the CEC to invite Wu to return to his post after the election.
Meanwhile, former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (
Describing the CEC as "a joke," Lien urged voters to boycott the referendums.
"The governing party used the referendums to cause chaos in the election. I call on voters to take only two ballots and ignore the referendum ballots," he said after campaigning for KMT Legislator John Chiang (
KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (
KMT caucus whip Kuo Su-chun (郭素春) told a press conference yesterday that many pro-independence radio stations were known to have "cooperated" with the DPP to mislead their audiences into believing that people who fail to collect their referendum ballots would be fined or imprisoned.
"Many people said they were afraid of being fined or jailed, so they had no choice but to claim their referendum ballots ... Did [the DPP] really have to play dirty tricks like this during the campaign?" she said, without presenting evidence.
At a separate setting, President Chen Shui-bian (
"They can boycott the referendum ballots today and could reject the right of Taiwanese to hold elections tomorrow," Hsieh Hsin-ni (謝欣霓), director of the DPP's Culture and Information Department, quoted Chen as saying after the DPP's Central Standing Committee meeting yesterday.
The DPP caucus yesterday requested that the CEC ask for compensation from the KMT for the boycotting of the referendums.
"Their ridiculous policy wasted everybody's money," DPP caucus whip Wang Tuoh (
Wang said the CEC spent NT$240 million (US$7.5 million) reviewing the KMT petitions for its proposed referendum and preparing for the vote.
Additional reporting by Flora Wang, Ko Shu-ling,
Mo Yan-chih and Jimmy Chuan
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS