A referendum proposal to “protect the family” put forward by the anti-gay-marriage Faith and Hope League, was rejected yesterday by the Cabinet’s Referendum Review Committee on the grounds that it failed to meet requirements.
The committee voted 10-1 against the proposal, which would have asked voters if they agreed that Civil Code “family’ items regarding husband-and-wife relationships, consanguinity and the principles of human relations cannot be amended unless the public agrees via a referendum.
The league has been promoting its referendum proposal as part of its efforts against the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Committee chairman Wang Kao-cheng (王高成) said the proposal was rejected for two reasons: one, that the proposed referendum topic was not a law, a legislative principle, important policy or constitutional amendment and therefore does not meet the requirement of the Referendum Act (公民投票法); and two, the proposal was about revising several provisions of the Civil Code, which does not meet the law’s requirement that a referendum should be about a single issue, he said.
The league can file an administrative appeal of the committee’s decision or introduce a new proposal, Wang said.
The Faith and Hope League was founded in September last year.
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
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