A constitutional amendment that would see the voting age lowered to 18 from 20 passed a committee review at the legislature in Taipei yesterday.
The Constitutional Amendment Committee approved the amendment, which was cosponsored by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and the New Power Party (NPP), and which seeks to bring the voting age in line with most other democratic nations.
Barring objections or proposed revisions requiring inter-party negotiations, the bill will undergo a second reading later this week.
Photo: CNA
Fourteen Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators did not attend the meeting as part of an ongoing protest against the DPP for setting the agenda for the 39-member committee in a meeting on Jan. 6 without them being present.
The proposed amendment would grant Taiwanese who are 18 or older the right to vote. It would also pave the way for further legislation to lower the minimum age for running as a candidate in an election from 23 years old.
At a news conference prior to the committee meeting, TPP Legislator Jang Chyi-lu (張其祿) said the three parties had reached a consensus over the issue, despite having minor differences, such as where the amendment should be placed in the Constitution.
Jang said he was looking forward to lawmakers setting aside their differences and making progress with the legislation as soon as possible.
NPP Legislator Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) said the constitutional revision is long overdue, as Taiwan had fallen behind many nations that have lowered the voting age to 18.
Chiu said he hopes the amendment would clear the legislature as soon as possible so it could be put to a vote in a referendum.
The additional articles of the Constitution state that amendments must first clear the legislature with the approval of at least three-quarters of lawmakers present at a meeting attended by at least three-quarters of all the lawmakers.
Based on the current distribution of seats in the legislature, where the DPP holds 61 seats and the KMT holds 39, it would take cooperation between the two main parties for any constitutional amendment to be passed.
If an amendment is approved by lawmakers, it must then be voted on in a national referendum and can only pass if half of all eligible voters cast ballots in favor of its passage.
KMT Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) said that the party supported the initiative to lower the voting age, but it strongly opposed the DPP deciding on the committee agenda without negotiating with the KMT, a move she described as lacking procedural justice.
However, even if KMT lawmakers had been present at the meeting on Jan. 6, it was likely that the committee, in which the DPP holds a majority of 21 seats, would have agreed to the DPP’s favored agenda.
DPP Legislator Chou Chun-mi (周春米) urged the KMT to stop boycotting meetings of the committee and take part in the legislative process.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS