Politicians are helping civil society groups to set up staffers to gather signatures to “rescue the Constitutional Court,” which has been paralyzed since opposition-backed amendments were promulgated in December last year.
The petition to reverse amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) is being organized by the People as Masters organization, whose efforts its deputy director, Chang Jen-yang (張人仰), said were supported by other civil society groups, as well as politicians.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) yesterday said he opened a station to help the effort at his local constituency service office in Tainan, adding that other stations would be launched soon in cooperation with city councilors, borough wardens, local opinion leaders and shop owners.
Photo: Wang Chun-Chung, Taipei Times
“We want to thank the People as Masters organization for its work in initiating the signature drive,” he said.
“It is a solution to escape the constitutional crisis that we are facing, allowing the public to exercise direct democracy via a referendum to resolve the crisis,” he added.
Additional signature stations are to be set up by Tainan city councilors Chen Huang-yu (陳皇宇) and Lee Chi-wei (李啟維), as well as by other DPP councilors, and at stores run by friendly business owners, including Sammi Fine Coffee, a Tainan seafood restaurant, a traditional Taiwan-style eatery and a flower shop.
Wang said staff from his office are planning to expand the signature drive to 50 stations in Tainan within 10 days, and that similar efforts are under way in other parts of southern Taiwan.
Chang said the petition was registered with the Central Election Commission (CEC) in July, and its deadline is at the end of next month.
The proposed referendum would annul the quorum of justices required on the Constitutional Court to make constitutionality judgements, which was introduced into the court’s procedure act by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party in December last year, he said
The amendments have paralyzed the functioning of the court and have caused a national crisis, he said.
The petition would require 290,000 signatures by the end of next month, with the number of signatures sitting at about 70,000, Chang said, adding that the group is optimistic, but would need help over the next month to reach the target.
Chang thanked Wang and his DPP colleagues for setting up the stations.
The CEC also allows for online signatures, which requires individuals to apply for a Digital Citizen Certificate at their local district offices and use a card reader to link it to the Internet.
“Most elderly people do not know how to work the process, and they do not have Digital Citizen Certificates or a card reader,” Chang said.
“The stations are needed so that younger staff can help elderly people to register their online signatures,” he added.
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