The government is open to discussions about absentee voting in national elections and referendums, but not voting from overseas, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told a plenary session at the legislature in Taipei on Tuesday. Cho expressed concern that allowing voting from overseas would expose elections to “the potential for manipulation by hostile regimes.”
Cho’s concerns are not new. Then-premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) and then-minister of the interior Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) on March 14 last year said that while the government could consider absentee voting within Taiwan for referendums, the measure could not be applied to overseas voting, or even for presidential elections.
For absentee voting to become a reality, election security would need to be improved, and planning and research would be required to ensure that votes are kept confidential and election results are accurate and fair, Chen said.
It would not be suitable for regular elections, but could be used for referendums, Lin said.
Concerns about election fraud and manipulation among top officials are understandable, given the threat posed by China, but there might be a way to safely allow absentee voting from Taiwan’s representative offices overseas.
At the very least, allowing Taiwanese to cast their ballots from anywhere within the country is a measure that is long overdue. The number of Taiwanese who migrate to the country’s large municipalities from towns and rural areas is significant. Requiring them to travel during elections often excludes people from the voting process, as many are unable to take leave from work or cannot afford to travel.
Cho said that domestic transfer voting — absentee voting from a location in Taiwan that is not for the voter’s registered address — could initially be tested in referendums on specific issues, but allowing it for elections for public office would be significantly more complex and face “great difficulties.”
However, Cho did not explain how something as simple as accepting a voter’s ballot from a different location within Taiwan could be so difficult.
Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairman Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) told lawmakers that the executive branch had been reviewing absentee voting for some time, but said that it would be “extremely serious” if any policy affected the stability of electoral work. Lee also did not explain how absentee voting could be destabilizing.
Perhaps their concerns are similar to those expressed by CTBC Business School Department of Business and Economic Law researcher Hsu Hui-feng (許惠峰), who in an editorial (“Absentee ballot’s cons outweigh its benefits,” March 21, 2024, page 8) outlined three problems that would likely challenge the introduction of absentee voting:
He said that the CEC would be unable to verify voter identities in a mail-in system, while vote buying remains a problem; there would be uncertainty over whether the CEC would safely receive mail-in votes; and the secrecy of ballots cast remotely could not be guaranteed.
However, mail-in voting is unnecessary. There are polling across the country, so people not in their electoral district could simply go to the nearest polling station.
Even overseas voting could be handled without a mail system. Despite Taiwan having formal diplomatic relations with only 12 countries, it has representative offices in another 60. They could provide secure polling stations and, as they have secure links with Taiwan, ballots could be mailed to the CEC without concern.
Although overseas voting is unlikely in the near future, absentee voting within Taiwan — including in presidential elections — is feasible and should be seriously considered to better protect the rights of voters.
The cancelation this week of President William Lai’s (賴清德) state visit to Eswatini, after the Seychelles, Madagascar and Mauritius revoked overflight permits under Chinese pressure, is one more measure of Taiwan’s shrinking executive diplomatic space. Another channel that deserves attention keeps growing while the first contracts. For several years now, Taipei has been one of Europe’s busiest legislative destinations. Where presidents and foreign ministers cannot land, parliamentarians do — and they do it in rising numbers. The Italian parliament opened the year with its largest bipartisan delegation to Taiwan to date: six Italian deputies and one senator, drawn from six
Recently, Taipei’s streets have been plagued by the bizarre sight of rats running rampant and the city government’s countermeasures have devolved into an anti-intellectual farce. The Taipei Parks and Street Lights Office has attempted to eradicate rats by filling their burrows with polyurethane foam, seeming to believe that rats could not simply dig another path out. Meanwhile, as the nation’s capital slowly deteriorates into a rat hive, the Taipei Department of Environmental Protection has proudly pointed to the increase in the number of poisoned rats reported in February and March as a sign of success. When confronted with public concerns over young
Taiwan and India are important partners, yet this reality is increasingly being overshadowed in current debates. At a time when Taiwan-India relations are at a crossroads, with clear potential for deeper engagement and cooperation, the labor agreement signed in February 2024 has become a source of friction. The proposal to bring in 1,000 migrant workers from India is already facing significant resistance, with a petition calling for its “indefinite suspension” garnering more than 40,000 signatures. What should have been a straightforward and practical step forward has instead become controversial. The agreement had the potential to serve as a milestone in
China has long given assurances that it would not interfere in free access to the global commons. As one Ministry of Defense spokesperson put it in 2024, “the Chinese side always respects the freedom of navigation and overflight entitled to countries under international law.” Although these reassurances have always been disingenuous, China’s recent actions display a blatant disregard for these principles. Countries that care about civilian air safety should take note. In April, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) canceled a planned trip to Eswatini for the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s coronation and the 58th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic
RSS