The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Central Standing Committee yesterday unanimously passed a resolution urging Kaohsiung voters to exercise their right to vote in Saturday’s recall election of Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜).
Regardless of whether they support or oppose the recall, Kaohsiung residents should vote this weekend, the resolution says.
The resolution, proposed by committee member and DPP Legislator Shen Fa-hui (沈發惠), was passed at a meeting presided over by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who on May 20 resumed leadership of the party following her second inauguration.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The Constitution guarantees the right to vote and to remove an official from office, the resolution says, adding that as a democratic nation, Taiwan prides itself on its democratic elections — a basic right enjoyed by Taiwanese.
Thanks to the hard work of Kaohsiung’s residents, a recall proposal surpassed a signature threshold and led to the first-ever recall vote of a mayor or county commissioner, it says.
This is a milestone in the history of Taiwan’s democracy and Kaohsiung’s residents have made history, it adds.
Removing an official from office is a basic right of the public and voting is the best expression of civil rights, the resolution says.
Regarding the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) calling on people not to vote, but rather to observe the process, the resolution says the DPP believes that this suppresses the development of the nation’s democratic politics and sets the worst example for a freedom that Taiwan has long been proud of.
The DPP asks that its Kaohsiung chapter work toward safeguarding the ability of Kaohsiung’s residents to exercise their civil rights, it says.
Central and local election agencies should handle the voting process and count the ballots, while relevant government agencies should investigate any behavior that hinders voting to ensure Kaohsiung’s residents can safely exercise their right, it adds.
Separately yesterday, Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), who in 2018 ran against Han for mayor, said that as a native of Kaohsiung, he would return to the city to cast his ballot in the recall election.
As part of the process of putting democracy into practice, voting holds an important meaning, Chen said, adding that people do not vote, others decide for them.
All Kaohsiung residents should vote, regardless of the outcome they support, so that they can express their opinion, he said.
Asked to which side he is inclined to vote, Chen said that the opinions of the city’s residents should be respected.
Resident should decide matters concerning Kaohsiung, he said.
Asked about criticism from Han supporters and a lawsuit over buses being arranged for university students to return to Kaohsiung this weekend, Chen said that Taiwan is a mature, democratic nation and that everyone’s opinion, especially when it comes to voting, should be respected.
Influencing elections through methods such as bullying or violence are illegal, he said, adding that democratic values should be respected.
Asked about reports that some residents have not received their notice to vote and whether it was evidence of an attempt to prevent people from voting, Chen said that he could not speculate on the cause of the alleged incidents.
People exercising their civil rights should be protected by law, he said.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS