Lawmakers across party lines yesterday voted to approve a constitutional amendment to lower the voting age from 20 to 18, clearing the amendment’s path to a referendum later this year.
The proposed bill was put to a vote on the legislative floor yesterday afternoon as dozens of high-school students and representatives of non-governmental organizations mobilized outside the Legislative Yuan building in Taipei to express their support for the amendment.
The final vote was 109-0, surpassing the minimum 82 “yes” votes required for the bill to clear the legislature.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
The result was a victory for student and civic groups, many of which have spent years trying to bring Taiwan’s voting age in line with most other democratic countries.
Constitutional amendments must first clear the legislature with the approval of at least three-quarters of lawmakers present at a meeting attended by a minimum of three-quarters of all lawmakers, according to the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China (中華民國憲法增修條文).
Once an amendment is approved by the Legislative Yuan, it must be voted on in a national referendum. It passes if half of all eligible voters cast ballots in its favor.
Photo: CNA
Civil society groups had expressed hope that the bill would clear the legislature yesterday so it could be voted on in a referendum on the same day as local elections in November, as nationwide elections are more likely to attract a higher voter turnout.
The bill to grant Taiwanese aged 18 or older the right to vote was cosponsored by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Taiwan People’s Party and the New Power Party.
Previously, supporters of the amendment expressed concern that the bill might not pass the legislature because the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) had not committed itself to voting in favor of the amendment, although it had expressed support for lowering the voting age.
Based on the distribution of seats in the 113-seat legislature, where the DPP has 61 seats and the KMT has 39 seats, the bill could only clear the body with the support of both parties.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
RSS