The Central Election Commission (CEC) faces six major challenges, including Chinese election interference, newly inducted Chairman Michael You (游盈隆) said yesterday, calling for heightened vigilance ahead of the year-end local elections.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, You said that his two priorities during his tenure are: the nine-in-one local elections in November, and the presidential and legislative elections in 2028.
You also detailed the six challenges facing the CEC: simultaneously holding referendums and elections, absentee voting, handling referendum proposals, Chinese spouses’ political rights, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven deepfakes, and Chinese interference in Taiwan’s elections.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
In the age of AI and the Internet, the impact of deepfake misinformation on elections is a serious concern, he said, adding that effectively countering such hard-to-prevent deepfakes, which can influence elections and undermine their fairness, must not be underestimated.
Regarding Chinese interference, You said it is not an exaggeration to say that Chinese Communist Party (CCP) interference in Taiwan’s elections has long been a constant rather than a variable.
This year, Chinese authorities have also, in an unprecedented and openly explicit move, established a task force dedicated to Taiwan’s local elections under the guidance of the CCP Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, he said.
Against this backdrop of evolving cross-strait dynamics, the CEC must remain highly vigilant and cannot afford complacency, he said.
On referendums, You said the Legislative Yuan on Nov. 21 passed amendments to Article 23 of the Referendum Act (公民投票法) officially tying referendums to elections.
While mainstream public opinion toward the change is positive, some are worried that this could complicate elections, he said, adding that properly conducting elections under the new system would be challenging.
While he personally considers absentee voting progressive thinking, You said more comprehensive, rational discussion is required to reach a public consensus and bring such mechanisms into practice.
The CEC’s handling of referendum issues proposed by the legislature would be another tough challenge, You said.
The commission in May last year vetoed the legislature’s proposed referendum on opposing the abolition of the death penalty, while approving a proposed referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, You said.
Whether the CEC, as an independent body, has the authority to reject referendum proposals put forward by the Legislative Yuan remains a highly contested and unresolved issue, he said.
How to properly handle such proposals — while ensuring the CEC does not become a mere rubber stamp — poses a significant challenge, he said.
Regarding Chinese spouses’ politic rights, You said the controversy surrounding former legislator-at-large Li Zhenxiu (李貞秀), a Chinese spouse, has subsided after she was expelled from the Taiwan People’s Party and lost her seat in the legislature.
However, Li would not be the last such case, he said.
Cross-strait relations have their own particular complexity, and using the Nationality Act (國籍法) at this stage to address the political rights of spouses from China is arguably forced and highly controversial, he said.
From another perspective, the Li case highlights gaps in Taiwan’s constitutional and legal framework, which also represents a major challenge going forward, he said.
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