Lawmakers and government officials yesterday squared off in the legislature over adjustments to thresholds for holding referendums and recalling public officials, culminating in Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators blocking a motion by the opposition asking the administration to submit draft amendments to the two related acts within two months.
As civic groups have continued their push for amendments to the Referendum Act (公民投票法) and the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Democratic Progressive Party legislators have repeatedly submitted proposals to lower thresholds for holding a vote, but their motions have been blocked at least 128 times by their KMT counterparts, DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) said.
The movement appeared to have gained momentum after New Taipei City Mayor and KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said that he would be glad to see “rational adjustments” made to the two laws.
However, on Monday, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Chien Tai-lang (簡太郎) reportedly told a KMT caucus meeting that no changes should be made to the two acts.
Chien yesterday denied making such a statement, telling a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee that it was false reporting.
“Rational adjustments can certainly be discussed, such as the thresholds for proposing and petitioning [for a referendum or a recall],” he said.
However, he insisted that the 50 percent voter turnout should be retained to avoid having a minority make decisions for the majority.
Central Election Commission Chairman Liu Yi-chou (劉義周) advised proponents of change to carefully consider the potential impact of referendum results when proposing changes to the thresholds.
Although the Referendum Act is not within the commission’s purview, “as a professor I believe there is a theoretical basis for lowering the threshold to 40 percent, which is half of 80 percent, the highest voter turnout on the country’s record,” Liu said.
As for the DPP’s proposal to abolish the 21-member Referendum Evaluation Committee — which has the right to veto proposals to hold referendums, including a petition last year, backed by 120,000 signatures, to hold a referendum on the operation of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant — Chien said the committee should not be abolished since the Council of Grand Justices’ Interpretation No. 645 has made it clear that the committee is not unconstitutional.
DPP Legislator Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said that is why referendums are compared to a “bird cage” in Taiwan, because there exist countless hurdles for a vote to take place.
Lee questioned Chien’s citation of the grand justices’ interpretation, saying it had ruled that the composition of the committee being proportional to political party representation in the legislature is unconstitutional, “but not that the committee per se is constitutional.”
The DPP legislators’ extempore motion asking the Executive Yuan to submit draft amendments to the two acts within two months was voted down by the KMT lawmakers.
Chien said a public hearing is to be held by the Ministry of the Interior on the threshold question, in which different views could be discussed.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS