Non-governmental organizations and student groups expressed disappointment on Saturday evening at the failure of a referendum that would have lowered the voting age in Taiwan from 20 to 18, and they hinted at other steps to address the issue.
The referendum, which asked voters to approve a proposed constitutional amendment granting voting rights to citizens aged 18 and over along with the right to run for office, was held in conjunction with local government elections on Saturday.
The referendum fell short of the threshold — nearly 9.62 million “yes” votes — needed to pass, as only 5.65 million voters backed the proposed revision against 5.02 million voters opposing it, data from the Central Election Commission (CEC) showed.
Photo: CNA
Voting in the referendum was about 59 percent, slightly less than the 60 percent for the city and county commissioner elections, although 6 percent of the votes cast were invalid.
With passage requiring 50 percent of all eligible voters to support the initiative, about 90 percent of the 10.66 million valid votes cast would have had to be “yes” votes for the constitutional amendment to go through.
The referendum result was “regrettable,” the Taiwan Alliance for Advancement of Youth Rights and Welfare (TAAYRW), the Taiwan Youth Association for Democracy (TYAD) and other groups said.
“This is not the result we looked forward to seeing,” TAAYRW secretary-general Lin Yueh-chin (林月琴) said.
To amend the Constitution, legislators must first pass a proposed amendment with at least three-quarters of all lawmakers present and a minimum of three-quarters of those present supporting the measure.
The proposed amendment must then be endorsed in a national referendum, with half of the nation’s eligible voters supporting it for it to pass.
These rules were enshrined in the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China in 2005, when Taiwan last made a constitutional revision.
TYAD managing director Alvin Chang (張育萌) said he was proud that the first referendum on proposed constitutional amendments garnered more than 5 million “yes” votes.
Chang expressed gratitude to many mayoral and city councilor candidates who openly championed the passage of the referendum during their election campaigns.
However, it remains problematic that people turning 18 next year would face citizen-related obligations, such as paying taxes, as stipulated in the Civil Code, without being given the right to vote, Chang said.
Starting next year, the age of majority in the Civil Code is to be 18, in accordance with the Criminal Code based on an amendment passed in December 2020.
The TYAD in a statement blamed the CEC for not promoting the referendum enough, as about half of all voters were unaware that it would be held on Saturday, it said, citing a survey conducted last month.
There were reported cases in which polling station staff did not automatically provide referendum ballots to voters, as they did with election ballots, until they were asked to do so.
Those staff might have been negligent, the TYAD said, and it called on the agency to look into the reported cases.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said they found the referendum result regrettable.
The DPP said its candidates had seized every opportunity to urge supporters to back the proposed amendment in public events over the past few months.
The KMT said it respects the decision of voters and that its support for the proposed measure to lower the voting age remains unchanged.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
Shih Hsin University President Chen Ching-he (陳清河) yesterday issued a public apology for comments made in his commencement speech last week, stating that he has asked the school to suspend his duties and halt his wages for two months as a show of contrition. At the commencement ceremony on May 30, Chen said, “If you don’t manage your time well, or your own emotions, or your health, then I am telling every one of you — put a quick end to ‘you,’ because the world has no need for ‘you.’” The comments have sparked significant controversy online, and Chen through an open
RSS