Bhutan brought down the curtain on a century of absolute monarchy yesterday, as the king's subjects went to the polls to elect the remote Himalayan nation's first democratic government.
The landmark vote was proposed by Bhutan's royal family to peacefully transform the small Buddhist kingdom, wedged in the mountains between massive neighbors India and China, into a constitutional monarchy.
But the country's young Oxford-educated sovereign, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, is expected to retain strong influence over the running of the country -- which has long boasted that its goal is "Gross National Happiness."
Despite the election excitement, many people in Bhutan view the concept of democracy with some alarm, and the king made a last-minute pitch to his people at the weekend to try to get them to take part.
His appeal seemed to have worked, as an election commission official reported more than 60 percent turnout by early afternoon in the capital Thimphu, where long lines were seen at polling stations before voting closed.
"This is the first time I'm voting," said Lhamchum, a smiling 68-year-old housewife who turned up with nine family members to cast their ballots.
The switch to democracy is a major step for Bhutan, which is about the size of Switzerland and is one of the most insular countries on the planet.
Before the king's dynasty took over in 1907, the country was divided up into countless fiefdoms. It had no roads, telephones or currency until the 1960s, and only allowed television in 1999.
The landlocked country, which calls itself "The Land of the Thunder Dragon," was also never colonized. For centuries the Bhutanese relished their isolation, maintaining a barter economy and allowing few foreigners to visit.
The educated elite have traditionally dominated politics, and only university graduates were allowed to stand for the 47 seats in the new National Assembly.
The candidates represented two parties, the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa or Bhutan United Party and the People's Democratic Party, which campaigned on the slogan: "Service with Humility: We Walk the Talk."
Meanwhile, the Himalayan kingdom may now lay claim to having the world's most enthusiastic voter: a 65-year-old woman who walked 600km to cast her ballot.
The Bhutan Times reported that people were allowed to vote only in the place of their birth and thousands headed to remote villages to take part in the country's first parliamentary elections.
Tshewang Dema said she preferred to walk because she suffered motion sickness after her first and only car journey four years ago.
"I didn't want to lose my vote just because I couldn't travel in a car," Dema said.
The 14-day trek from Thimphu to the eastern Trashiyangste district also turned out to be a long overdue homecoming.
Dema's cousin wept when she walked into the house, unannounced, after four years, accompanied by her 13-year-old grandson.
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
RSS