A report by the Control Yuan released yesterday provides support for a government plan to hold next year’s presidential election in combination with the legislative election and to also introduce absentee voting in those elections.
The report, a review on the high frequency of elections and the lack of a method for absentee voting — two longstanding issues that remain unresolved — called on the government to finalize the policies and put them into effect as soon as possible.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is in favor of merging the two elections by bring the presidential election, scheduled for March, forward to take place at the same time as the legislative election, which could be held in January.
However, the Central Election Commission has yet to make a decision on the matter.
By law, holding the presidential election with the legislative election is not prohibited, said the report, authored by -Control Yuan members Lee Ping-nan (李炳南) and Chou Yang-shan (周陽山).
The Control Yuan said the government should push for a merger of the elections because the measure has support from a majority of the public.
It also urged the government to accelerate the introduction of an absentee voting system to “fully protect” the public’s right to vote.
The report said the system should be implemented in time for next year’s elections.
Ninety-six countries — including the US, the UK, France, Australia, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines — utilize a form of absentee voting, which in Taiwan has been stalled for years amid political gridlock, the report said.
While not opposing the idea of merging the elections and the introduction of absent voting, the Democratic Progressive Party has expressed reservations about the two initiatives being applied next year, saying the purpose of the changes could be a political ploy to favor the KMT.
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
Japanese Councilor Hei Seki (石平) on Wednesday said that he plans to visit Taiwan, saying that would “prove that Taiwan is an independent country and does not belong to China.” Seki, a member of the Japan Innovation Party, was born in Chengdu in China’s Sichuan Province and became a naturalized Japanese in 2007. He was elected to the House of Concilors last year. His views on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) — espoused in a series of books on politics and history — prompted Beijing to sanction him, including barring Seki from traveling to China. Seki wrote on X that he intends
RSS