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.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting