Leaving vacated Aboriginal legislative seats empty denies Aborigines’ representation, campaigners said yesterday, accusing Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers of seeking to delay reforms and advocating a wasteful by-election if a KMT Aboriginal legislator is stripped of their seat.
“If reforms are not implemented this term, we will be deprived of a legislator yet again,” said Association for Taiwan Indigenous Peoples’ Policies chairman Oto Micyang Raranges, who is of the Amis people.
Prosecutors have sought to annul the election of KMT Legislator Uliw Qaljupayare amid vote-buying allegations.
If Qaljupayare — a member of the Paiwan people who is also known by his Mandarin name, Chien Tung-ming (簡東明), is stripped of his seat, this would be the third consecutive legislative term for which the number of Aboriginal legislators has fallen below the constitutionally mandated six.
According to Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) guidelines, by-elections for seats vacated by Aboriginal legislators can be held only if two of the three seats composing either of the nation’s two Aboriginal districts are vacated.
The Mountain Aboriginal District and Plains Aboriginal District are the only remaining national multi-member legislative districts, with the top three candidates in each district winning seats.
While Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers have argued to pass reforms to allow “substitution” down the list of candidates if legislators vacate their seats, KMT legislators have called to allow by-elections or delay the implementation of reforms until the next legislative term to avoid unfairly benefiting DPP candidate Walis Perin — a member of the Sediq people who would be awarded the seat vacated by Qaljupayare if substitution were allowed.
Raranges said that the expense of holding a special by-election was unjustifiable given that both Aboriginal districts are “presidential” in size — with any by-election requiring polling stations to be set up across the nation.
Substitution would not benefit any particular political party in the long run, he said.
“Since 1994, there have been seven legislative terms, with 14 potential ‘substitutions’ across the two districts if bribery charges were proven. Based on Central Election Commission data, out of the 14 candidates who would have been awarded vacated seats, nine were KMT candidates, three were People First Party candidates and one was an independent. Only one DPP candidate would have been potentially substituted into a seat,” he said.
The KMT and other pan-blue parties and factions have dominated the Aboriginal districts almost exclusively since they were established as part of constitutional changes in 1994.
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
Taiwan Travelogue (臺灣漫遊錄), which earlier this week became the first Taiwanese novel to win the International Booker Prize, is to be adapted into a television series through a Taiwan-Japan coproduction, producer Chang Chen-yu (張辰漁) said yesterday. Chang, a producer at World Softest Production Film Co, wrote on Facebook that the company had been searching for projects with international appeal that retain a strong Taiwanese identity after colleagues and Japanese partners strongly recommended the novel. After reading the book, Chang said he immediately decided to pursue the screen rights. “A great story has the power to transcend time and borders, and connect countless people,”
RSS