The Cabinet yesterday remove an amendment to the Referendum Law (公民投票法) implemented by the former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government that lowered the threshold to initiate a referendum and to determine its validity.
“This is not an indication of the government’s opposition to lower referendums thresholds, but rather in reaction to the fact that society is divided on the matter,” Deputy Minister of the Interior Lai Feng-wei (賴峰偉) said.
The law, which was enacted by the Chinese Nationalist Party-dominated (KMT) legislature in 2003, stipulates that the number of signatures required for a referendum to be considered is 0.5 percent of the electorate participating in the latest presidential election — or approximately 16 million individuals — with an additional 5 percent of the population needed for a referendum to be held.
Describing the law as a “bird cage” law with excessively high thresholds for putting a referendum proposal on the ballot and passing it, the former DPP government had suggested cutting the threshold to 0.003 percent and 1.5 percent respectively.
“The amendment would substantially reduce the threshold. As it is a major issue, further discussion is needed before consensus can be reached,” Lai said.
Lai said another matter was a constitutional interpretation by the Council of Grand Justices on July 11, which said that the party-based selection of members of the Referendum Supervisory Committee was unconstitutional.
The committee is authorized by law to review referendum petitions.
Grand justices said that the article concerning the make-up of the committee denied the premier the power of making personnel appointments and invalidated that ruling a year after it was made.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet yesterday passed an amendment to College Schools Law (專科學校法) that would allow disabled students to extend their years of study by abolishing existing regulation that stipulates a maximum delay of two years.
The Cabinet also approved a draft bill regarding the establishment of science parks to develop industrial clusters in the Agri-Bio technology sector.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS