Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers yesterday accused the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of arbitrarily revising the regulations governing the election and recall of farmers’ association officials and allowing candidates to see a list of association members who are eligible to vote in association elections ahead of nationwide farmers’ associations elections next month.
KMT legislators Chang Li-shan (張麗善), Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) and Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) held a news conference saying that the government had the Council of Agriculture change the Regulations Governing Farmers’ Associations’ Election and Recall (農會選舉罷免辦法) for its own benefit ahead of the elections for agricultural task force team chiefs, deputy chiefs and members’ representatives.
Chang said DPP lawmakers brought up the issue during a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in November last year, proposing to provide a list of voting association members to the candidates.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
“The Ministry of Justice advised de-identifying the voters’ information, but added that the move would nullify the purpose of providing the list,” Chang said. “The committee, with the DPP’s majority, deferred the decision to revise the regulations to the Council of Agriculture.”
The council on Friday last week announced the period of comment for revisions, Lin said.
“The period was seven days, which is extremely short considering that the maximum time allowed is three months,” Chang said.
Huang said that ever since the DPP came to power, it has been trying to seize the farmers’ association system, adding that the revisions are aimed at helping pro-DPP candidates solicit votes by whatever means, including bribery.
KMT lawmakers also warned the DPP against violating the Personal Information Protection Act (個人資料保護法).
Chang said that “960,000 farmers’ personal information is at stake.”
“The regulations are not being revised without legitimate reason, such as letting the candidates know who their electors are so that they can compete on an equal footing,” Lin said, adding that the downsides are “nevertheless significant, such as bribery and intimidation.”
DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said that candidates have the right to know who their voters are to canvass them accordingly.
“The information is protected from people outside the associations and the candidates are not allowed to disclose the information,” he said, adding that civic association elections should not be conducted in a “black box” manner or involve unfair competition, “which only the KMT would engage in under the pretext of protecting personal information.”
Additional reporting by CNA
Taiwan has arranged for about 8 million barrels of crude oil, or about one-third of its monthly needs, to be shipped from the Red Sea this month to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and ease domestic supply pressures, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said yesterday. The state-run oil company has worked with Middle Eastern suppliers to secure routes other than the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes, CPC chairman Fang Jeng-zen (方振仁) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. Suppliers in Saudi Arabia have indicated they
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
CCP ‘PAWN’? Beijing could use the KMT chairwoman’s visit to signal to the world that many people in Taiwan support the ‘one China’ principle, an academic said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday arrived in China for a “peace” mission and potential meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), while a Taiwanese minister detailed the number of Chinese warships currently deployed around the nation. Cheng is visiting at a time of increased Chinese military pressure on Taiwan, as the opposition-dominated Legislative Yuan stalls a government plan for US$40 billion in extra defense spending. Speaking to reporters before going to the airport, Cheng said she was going on a “historic journey for peace,” but added that some people felt uneasy about her trip. “If you truly love Taiwan,
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
RSS