A recall vote of Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) in his constituency in Taichung is to be postponed from next month to October, the Central Election Commission said on Friday, citing COVID-19 restrictions.
The vote is to be held on Oct. 23, from 8am to 4pm, the commission said.
The vote would not be held on its originally scheduled date, Aug. 28, because preparations have been “greatly disrupted and delayed” amid the level 3 COVID-19 alert, which is to remain in place until at least July 26, it said.
Setting up polling stations at schools and other venues, as well as the recruitment and training of polling staff, has been affected by school closures and a ban on indoor gatherings of more than four people, it said.
The commission ruled out holding the recall vote on the same day as national referendums, which have also been postponed, from Aug. 28 to Dec. 18.
Holding the recall vote and the referendums on the same day would distract from the recall, the commission said, adding that separate dates would ensure that “the results are consistent with public opinion.”
Holding the recall vote later than Oct. 23 would also risk undermining voters’ rights, it said.
In response to the announcement, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) called the commission’s reasoning “nonsensical.”
By separating the dates, the commission is trying to discourage people from voting in the recall, the KMT said in a statement.
Attention on the recall vote would be diminished if it is not held on the same day as the nationwide referendums, it said.
Meanwhile, Chen said in a Facebook livestream that he does not have a problem with the postponement, adding that people should cast their ballot on polling day.
The 35-year-old first-time lawmaker last year won his legislative seat narrowly against then-incumbent KMT lawmaker Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恆).
Yang Wen-yuan (楊文元), who initiated the recall campaign, said that Chen had been neglecting his constituency, behaving outrageously in the legislature and on social media, and had supported the government’s decision to lift a ban on the importation of pork containing residue of the feed additive ractopamine.
With the recall vote now set for a later date, the commission is expected to announce the number of eligible voters by Oct. 19.
SELF-RELIANCE: Taiwan would struggle to receive aid in the event of an invasion, so it must prepare to ‘hold its own’ for the first 70 days of a war, a defense expert said Taiwan should strengthen infrastructure, stock up on reserves and step up efforts to encourage Taiwanese to fight against an enemy, legislators and experts said on Tuesday last week. The comments sought to summarize what the nation should learn from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has exceeded 300 days, since Feb. 24 last year. Institute of National Defense and Security Research fellow Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) said that the war in Ukraine highlighted the importance of being ready for war. Taiwan’s development of an “asymmetrical warfare” doctrine and extending mandatory conscription to one year is a good start to preparation of defense against a
The Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday said it would delay the lifting of the indoor mask mandate, citing public health considerations and ongoing discussions on how the policy should be implemented. Earlier this week, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman, said officials from several ministries were working on the policy and an announcement would be made yesterday. However, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝), who heads the CECC, yesterday said that the policy was still under review. Wang said its implementation would be “delayed slightly” due to three main factors. First, the center
END OF SERIES: As the first generation of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines are set to expire, the CECC would no longer offer them to children younger than four years old The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported the nation’s first case of a person infected with the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant of SARS-CoV-2. The Taiwanese man in his 20s arrived from Canada on Jan. 22, said Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), who is deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division. He tested positive after reporting having a runny nose and muscle soreness while in airport quarantine, Lo said. The XBB.1.5 subvariant is the dominant strain in the US, but there is no evidence to suggest that it causes more severe illness than other Omicron subvariants, he said,
NORMALIZING TIES: The delegation led by the KMT’s Johnny Chiang is to meet with British lawmakers, think tanks and business groups to discuss developments A legislative delegation led by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) arrived in the UK yesterday to rally support for Taiwan’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Chiang heads the Legislative Yuan’s Taiwan-UK Interparliamentary Amity Association. The delegation also includes KMT legislators Ma Wen-chun (馬文君), Wen Yu-hsia (溫玉霞), Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷), Sandy Yu (游毓蘭) and Wu I-ding (吳怡玎). The group is to meet with British lawmakers Alicia Kearns, who chairs the British House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee; Tobias Ellwood, who chairs the House Defence Select Committee; and Bob Stewart, who cochairs the
RSS