President Chen Shui-bian (
In an interview with the Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun, Chen said he had asked Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
"I wonder if it is possible to hold negotiations convened by the president to deal with the combination of the referendums and the presidential election, which is a very important, sensitive, thorny and disputed issue, before election day," Chen said.
The government has decided to hold a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-sponsored referendum asking if voters support seeking a UN seat using the name "Taiwan" and a KMT initiated referendum on the country rejoining the world body under the "Republic of China (ROC)" or any other "practical titles" in tandem with the March 22 presidential election.
Appeals to separate the poll and the referendums have been made recently, mainly by the Taiwan Solidarity Union, which is worried that the referendums would fail, partly because of the high threshold set for referendums in the Referendum Law (公民投票法) and partly because of a boycott the KMT is likely to stage.
"It's not necessary to hold the referendums together with the national election as long as we make the threshold a simple majority of voters casting ballots, removing the 50 percent threshold. Referendums can be held at any time," Chen told the paper.
In other developments, lawmakers from the DPP and the KMT failed to reach a consensus yesterday on a legislative resolution on the nation's UN bid at a cross-party meeting.
The KMT caucus proposed a resolution draft that said the legislature should urge the government to speed up efforts to get "our country" into the UN and other international organizations, setting aside the controversial issue of which name to use to represent the country.
"We reserved approval of the draft as it failed to reflect equality between Taiwan and China. We also worried that the KMT will launch a boycott of the two referendums and use the resolution as a substitute for the referendums," DPP caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) said.
The DPP caucus told a press conference yesterday that they would not support the proposal until the KMT shows it some respect.
"A referendum for `returning' or `participating in' the UN is our policy. They need to show respect by adding this sentence to the agreement in return for our support," DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (
He said that the referendum would be held along with the presidential election and that the KMT should not confuse the public by proposing the agreement now, when there are only two weeks to election day.
"The referendum is the referendum and the agreement is the agreement. They are two different issues," Ker said.
Ker said the timing of the proposal showed that the KMT was merely trying to confuse the public. He also said there was no main body to the text.
"Up to now, there is only an introduction to the agreement. How do they expect us to sit down, negotiate and support the proposal when there is nothing to discuss?" Ker said.
He said that the KMT had initially planned to propose the agreement before the Lunar New Year but had postponed it until now for reasons unknown.
"For me, the agreement is only a document to tell the world what the legislature's attitude toward the UN issue is. It will never be able to replace the referendum because the result of the referendum will be the message from the Taiwanese people to the world. They mean different things," Ker said.
KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (
Joining the UN was a "non-issue" for the DPP, Lin said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JIMMY CHUANG
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS