Two referendum proposals on drafting a new constitution were rejected by the Central Election Commission (CEC) yesterday on the grounds that their wording lacked clarity and did not meet procedural regulations.
Five proposals were discussed at a commission meeting.
The two constitution proposals — both initiated by independence advocate Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) — asked: “Do you support the president in pushing for the establishment of a new constitution reflecting the reality of Taiwan?” and: “Do you support the president in initiating a constitutional reform process for the country?”
Two hearings on July 14 and July 16 were held about the proposals, the commission said, adding that commission members believe parts of the questions lack a clear definition, such as “pushing for,” “reflecting the reality of Taiwan” and “initiating a constitutional reform process.”
Whether the establishment of a new constitution and constitutional reform are acceptable referendum questions was another concern, it said.
The commission asked for revised proposals, but only one was submitted and it arrived after the deadline, it said.
The commission also reviewed a proposal made last month by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), which asked: “Do you agree that referendums should be held on the same day as nationwide elections, if a nationwide election is scheduled to be held one to six months after a referendum proposal has been approved?”
It also reviewed KMT caucus whip Lin Wei-chou’s (林為洲) submission, which reads: “Do you agree that the government should impose a complete ban on the importation of meat, offal and related products from pigs fed leanness-enhancing agents, including ractopamine and other beta-agonists?”
Lin’s proposal came after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Aug. 28 announced that the government would set standards for ractopamine residue in US pork, lifting an import ban.
Conclusions reached at the meeting included that hearings should be held on the two KMT proposals, the commission said.
The last item was a proposal by Pan Chong-cheng (潘忠政), convener of the Alliance for the Rescue of the Datan Algae Reefs, which asked: “Do you agree that the CPC’s third liquefied natural gas terminal should be moved away from the algal reefs and sea near Taoyuan’s coastal Datan area?” referring to CPC Corp, Taiwan’s construction in Datan Village (大潭) in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音).
Pan’s proposal should be amended and resubmitted, the commission said.
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