Pro-independence groups yesterday proposed holding a referendum on the recent amendment to the Local Government Act (地方制度法).
The Northern Taiwan Society, the Taiwan UN Association, the Referendum Alliance for Taiwan and other civil groups yesterday held a press conference to publicly voice the referendum plan.
Referendum Alliance for Taiwan Convener Tsay Ting-kuei (蔡丁貴) accused the KMT of using the bill to secure support for the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) candidates in the year-end special municipality mayoral elections, and said it deprives mayors of the five special municipalities of the authority to appoint district heads. He accused the KMT-dominated legislature of “violence by majority,” saying the public has to confront the KMT’s “dictatorship” through referendums.
PHOTO: CNA
Former National Taiwan University professor Kao Cheng-yan (高成炎) said that since the second article of Referendum Act gives the public the right to a referendum on passed bills, they would pose a referendum with this question: “Do you agree with allowing the government to implement the amendment to the Local Government Act approved by the legislature on Jan.18?”
The Referendum Act (公民投票法) stipulates that the signatures of 0.5 percent of eligible voters — approximately 90,000 — must be collected to apply to hold a referendum. In the second stage, 5 percent of eligible voters — approximately 900,000 — must sign the petition before the Referendum Review Committee can screen the proposed referendum.
He said it would not be easy, but civic groups and the Democratic Progressive Party would give their best efforts.
The opposition has said that under the amendment, incumbent township mayors in the five regions will become district heads when the five municipalities are formed at the end of the year. They would be able to serve as public officials through 2014 — nine years after they were elected in 2005.
DPP caucus whip Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅) said his party and its caucus were fully behind holding a referendum.
Meanwhile, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday that it was still reviewing the content of the KMT’s advertisements for the Act before it takes any action.
The ad first shows footage filmed in the Legislative Yuan during the passage of the bill and highlights the behavior of DPP legislators as they struggled with their KMT rivals while trying to prevent Legislative Vice Speaker Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) from calling for a vote on the bill.
Aside from calling the DPP a “party of violence,” the ad also displays newspaper reports showing that the bill has gained support from DPP local government chiefs, including Tainan Mayor Hsu Tain-tsair (�?]) and Tainan County Commissioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智).
Chien Hsu-cheng (簡旭徵), deputy director of the commission’s Communication Department, said the ad did not run during elections and would be reviewed to check whether it violated the Broadcasting and Television Act (廣播電視法), Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法) or other laws.
“The ad ran over the weekend and we saw the clips [on Monday] morning. Toward the end, the ad said that it was paid for by the KMT,” Chien told the Taipei Times. “We are still reviewing the content to determine whether we should turn this case over to the content review committee for further discussion.”
Chien said that the controversy appears to be whether the ad should blur out the legislative scuffle or whether it should be aired in non-general viewing hours, adding that the commission had not received any complaints from the public.
Meanwhile, Hsu filed for a preliminary injunction at the Tainan District Court yesterday morning, asking the court to impound the master tape of the ad and completely ban its broadcast.
Hsu said he took the case to court because it was the only way he could keep the KMT from slandering him.
He said he never proposed that the township chiefs and councilors automatically become district heads.
Hsu said he had proposed that township councilors become advisers to the district directors.
The KMT had ignored his protests and continued to run the ad, he said.
Staff at the KMT’s Tainan City chapter gathered outside the district court yesterday morning, asking Hsu to make a clear statement on where he stood on the issue.
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