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.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique