Two referendum proposals on drafting a new constitution are to be sent to the Central Election Commission on Thursday, a pro-independence group said yesterday.
Taiwan New Constitution Foundation executive director Lin Yi-cheng (林宜正) said that the initiatives have so far garnered more than 3,000 signatures apiece, surpassing the required threshold of 1,931 as stipulated in the Referendum Act (公民投票法), which sets the threshold at 0.01 percent of the electorate in the most recent presidential election — which would be 19.31 million eligible voters.
If the commission approves the proposals, the foundation would have to collect more than 289,667 signatures in the second stage of the three-step process to hold a referendum, he said.
A referendum would be on Aug. 28 next year if the commission verifies that the signatures have exceeded the threshold for a referendum, Lin said.
“Voters would be asked two questions: ‘Do you support the president in initiating a constitution reform process for the country?’ and ‘Do you support the president in pushing for the establishment of a new constitution reflecting the reality of Taiwan?’” Lin said.
The referendum would be declared valid if 25 percent of the electorate votes, or about 5 million ballots cast, and a majority votes in favor, he said.
If the two proposals pass, it would show that more than 5 million Taiwanese support forming a new constitution, which would be a foundation upon which the government could act, he said.
Should the government decide to write a new constitution, it would have to hold a national conference to confirm details and procedures before another round of national-level meetings on drafting a new constitution, he said.
Should draft bills for a new constitution be completed, a national-level vote would be held to endorse it, Lin added.
The foundation was formed last year by Taiwan independence advocate Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏), with the aim of pushing for a new constitution.
The foundation believes that the Constitution, adopted in China in 1947 before the Republic of China government relocated to Taiwan in 1949, does not fit Taiwan, despite having been amended seven times since 1996, Lin said.
A new constitution is needed to differentiate Taiwan from China, to assert the nation’s sovereignty and raise awareness among Taiwanese, he said.
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
The cosponsors of a new US sanctions package targeting Russia on Thursday briefed European allies and Ukraine on the legislation and said the legislation would also have a deterrent effect on China and curb its ambitions regarding Taiwan. The bill backed by US senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal calls for a 500 percent tariff on goods imported from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports — targeting nations such as China and India, which account for about 70 percent of Russia’s energy trade, the bankroll of much of its war effort. Graham and Blumenthal told The Associated Press
INTEL: China’s ships are mapping strategic ocean floors, including near Guam, which could aid undersea cable targeting and have military applications, a report said China’s oceanographic survey and research ships are collecting data in the Indo-Pacific region — possibly to aid submarine navigation, detect or map undersea cables, and lay naval mines — activities that could have military applications in a conflict with Taiwan or the US, a New York Times report said. The article, titled “China Surveys Seabeds Where Naval Rivals May One Day Clash,” was written by Chris Buckley and published on Thursday. Starboard Maritime Intelligence data revealed that Chinese research ships last year repeatedly scanned the ocean floor east of Taiwan’s maritime border, and about 400km east and west of Guam; “waters that
RSS