A referendum proposal championed by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) and another by KMT Legislator Lin Wei-chou (林為州) can advance to the stage of gathering signatures, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said yesterday.
Chiang’s proposed referendum question would read: “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?”
Lin’s proposed referendum question would read: “Do you agree to a total ban on the importation of pork and related products containing leanness-enhancing additives (ractopamine and other beta agonists)?”
The two referendum proposals have been further clarified — as the commission requested last month — comply with all regulations and have been approved to begin the second stage, the CEC said.
The KMT said that it would set up sites in cities and counties across the nation to gather signatures to meet the threshold of 290,000 needed in the second stage.
The referendum questions concern people’s rights and health, two aspects that the present administration has ignored, the KMT said.
“We hope to obtain enough support for the referendum questions so that Taiwanese, as a whole, can make their voices heard when the referendums are voted on in August next year,” it added.
Under the Referendum Act (公民投票法), referendums can be held every two years, with the next possible date being Aug. 28 next year.
The CEC yesterday also announced that a petition led by Liu Chen-fang (劉辰芳), a resident of Kaohsiung’s Fongshan District (鳳山), to recall independent Kaohsiung City Councilor Huang Chieh (黃捷) has been approved.
Fongshan District has an eligible voter count of 287,829 people, so the law stipulates that the petition would need more than 28,783 signatures.
Liu’s team provided 41,683 signatures, of which 30,498 are valid, the CEC said.
Huang is required to tender her defense against the recall within 10 days of receiving official notice of the commission’s decision, the CEC said, adding that a recall vote would be held on Feb. 6.
Another local politician facing recall next year is Taoyuan City Councilor Wang Hao-yu (王浩宇) of the Democratic Progressive Party.
The CEC last month approved a motion proposed by Hope Media executive officer Tang Ping-jung (唐平榮) to recall Wang, saying that the vote would be held on Jan. 16.
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