The New Power Party (NPP) caucus yesterday threw its support behind a proposal by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to amend the Referendum Act (公民投票法) to allow absentee voting.
The KMT caucus has proposed that the Legislative Yuan hold an extraordinary session from today to Monday to discuss a number of urgent issues, including allowing absentee voting in referendums, after the Central Election Commission (CEC) last week postponed four referendums that were scheduled to take place on Aug. 28 to Dec.18.
Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) presided over a coordination meeting yesterday afternoon to decide whether an extraordinary session should be held to deliberate changes to the Referendum Act.
Photo copied by Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times
NPP Chairwoman Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) said before the meeting that she was glad that the CEC had responded to calls for the referendums to be postponed, but whether the COVID-19 outbreak would have eased by Dec. 18 remains an uncertainty.
“We will submit our version of the amendment to allow people to vote through absentee ballots in referendums,” Chen said.
However, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said his caucus opposed such an amendment, as there should be special regulations governing the enforcement of an absentee voting system.
The DPP caucus also opposes convening an extraordinary session to discuss the amendment, Ker said.
The KMT is using absentee voting as an excuse to promote mail-in ballots, which are against the Constitution, he said.
DPP caucus secretary general Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said that the DPP’s position has always been to stipulate special regulations for absentee voting.
As lawmakers failed to come to an agreement on the issue at yesterday’s meeting, the issue is expected to be put to a vote at another meeting today.
On Monday, CEC Chairman Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) said that the commission’s draft bill on absentee voting is not expected to be enacted before the Dec. 18 referendum, which means it is unlikely to be an option for voters.
Furthermore, the commission will need at least six months to train poll workers on the mechanics of an absentee voting system, he added.
The CEC’s draft bill proposes allowing absentee voting in a referendum only if voters are unable to return to the city or county in which they are registered, Lee said.
No agreement has been reached on whether to allow voting online or from overseas, he said, citing fraud and security concerns.
Additional reporting by CNA
Taiwan does not exclude the possibility of having formal diplomatic relations with countries that also have formal ties with China, regardless of Beijing’s stance, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said on Sunday. There was speculation in 2012 that Honduras was attempting to have simultaneous diplomatic relations with Taiwan and China, an idea that then-minister of foreign affairs David Lin (林永樂) rejected. Honduras severed formal ties with Taiwan on Sunday morning after establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing. President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration has taken a more practical approach to relations with like-minded countries since assuming government in 2016. Previous administrations took the
Seven senior faculty members, including the principal, of a high school in Taichung were temporarily suspended from their jobs on Friday, pending an investigation by the Taichung Education Bureau into alleged bullying and abuse that led to the suicide of a student last month. The city’s education officials were too slow to suspend those involved, the student’s father told a news conference on Wednesday, at which Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) and members of the Humanistic Education Foundation were also present. The boy had been a good student and a high achiever during elementary and junior-high, and had
ORIGIN UNKNOWN: The Leofoo Village Theme Park and Taipei Zoo have accounted for their baboons, as authorities continue a 12-day capture attempt Authorities in Taoyuan are searching for a non-native baboon, possibly of the chacma species, that has been spotted several times in the city’s Pingjhen District (平鎮) over the past 12 days, and was most recently seen in coastal Sinwu District (新屋). The baboon was first spotted near a local factory on March 10 in central Taoyuan, Jhensing Borough Warden Huang Chih-chieh (黃志杰) said. Huang said he requested the Leofoo Village Theme Park’s help after a second sighting on Saturday. In other sightings, the baboon raided fruit and vegetable gardens on private property, and has evaded one capture attempt via a tranquilizer dart. Media reported
Taiwan would have established formal relations with Argentina long ago if not for China’s interference, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Yui told US-based Spanish-language online news outlet Infobae in an interview published on Tuesday. Beijing has left behind a string of unfulfilled promises in Latin America, including pledges to build the Grand Nicaragua Canal and airports, docks, ports and industrial zones in El Salvador, he said. Meanwhile, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico and other countries enjoy pragmatic and improving relations with Taiwan based on cooperation on the economy, culture, technology and science, he said. While Taiwan is “happy to live and let live,”
RSS