The Executive Yuan’s Committee of Appeal has upheld the Referendum Review Committee’s denial of a request from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to put the government’s planned economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China to a referendum.
If the DPP refuses to accept the decision, it could appeal to the Taipei High Administrative Court within two months.
Committee of Appeal chairman Chen Ter-shin (陳德新) refused to comment on the case yesterday, referring questions to the written decision posted on the commission’s Web site.
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUN, TAIPEI TIMES
DPP PROPOSAL
The DPP wants a referendum to ask the question: “Do you agree that the government should put the ECFA that Taiwan plans to sign with China to a referendum?”
The Referendum Review Committee turned down the petition by a vote of 13 to 4 with two abstentions on Aug. 27 last year.
The Committee of Appeal said it considered the rationale behind the Referendum Review Committee’s decision valid — that voters cannot express their approval or disapproval of the proposed ECFA because it lacks substantial content.
QUESTION OF CONTENT
“The substantive content of the ECFA will be decided by [ongoing cross-strait] negotiation,” the decision states.
“The content is still under deliberation and thus it is unclear. Given that, it is not a subject to ask people their opinions about,” the decision states.
In its appeal, the DPP objected to another reason given by the Referendum Review Committee — that the referendum subject did not fall under one of the four categories applicable for a national referendum: Referendum of laws, initiative of legislative principles, initiative or referendum of import policies, or referendum to amend the Constitution.
The DPP said in its appeal that the ECFA, which concerns the economic sovereignty of the country and major rights and obligations of the people, was a matter of initiative of legislative principles and a matter of important policies.
BIAS CLAIM
Saying that the question it asked was more concrete and clearer than the two previous referendums initiated by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the DPP said the Referendum Review Committee had been prejudiced in making its decision.
The first KMT-initiated referendum referred to was held in January 2008 and asked voters if they would agree to authorize the legislature to investigate officials suspected of corruption.
The second one was held in March 2008 and asked voters if the nation should apply to return to the UN under the name “Republic of China” or any other practical and dignified title.
The Committee of Appeal also sided with the Referendum Review Committee on this point, saying there was no comparison between the DPP’s proposal and the previous referendum subjects.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS