Veteran political activist Shih Ming-te (施明德) said he would consult with the Central Election Commission (CEC) about the feasibility of collecting signatures for his presidential candidate bid over the Internet to help him pass the required threshold.
Shih, who previously said that he was not worried about coming up short of the 300,000 signatures he needs to run, yesterday said in an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) that he is worried now.
“It would not be honorable for Taiwan if I cannot even run for president,” said Shih, who at one time was the nation’s longest-serving political prisoner, having spent more than 25 years behind bars.
He said he would file a request with the commission, asking it to introduce a rule that would allow signatures to be gathered online, rather than accepting only paper-based signatures.
“The times have changed. Nowadays, people can manage their household information and pay income taxes via the Internet, so why is it that signatures to obtain presidential candidacy cannot be gathered online?” he asked.
The commission’s rule that signatures must be paper-based is a waste of paper that is outdated and environmentally unfriendly, he said, adding that he has collected about 100,000 signatures.
“It is so difficult to achieve, just plain cruel. It is draining my energy,” he said.
Submitting a paper-based signature requires people to provide their identity cards, which is “off-putting” to some, he said.
Shih said the only way to boost his signature drive was through media exposure, adding that many people know of his presidential bid, but not all know he is required to obtain signatures to run.
He said he plans to begin nationwide campaigning at the beginning of next month.
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