The Central Election Commission (CEC) yesterday attempted to end months of wrangling over the voting system to be used in the legislative elections by announcing it would allow voters to follow the two-step voting procedure as long as the tables and voting boxes in polling stations are placed in accordance with the one-step voting format.
CEC Chairman Chang Cheng-hsiung (
Chang made the remarks at a press conference held at the Executive Yuan in Taipei in response to a report in yesterday's Chinese-language United Daily News.
PHOTO: CNA
Earlier yesterday, Cabinet Spokesman Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) said that "there are signs of reconciliation. We hope the controversy can stop here."
On election day, Jan. 12, voters are entitled to cast two ballots for the next legislature -- one for their district candidate and one for their preferred party, along with two ballots for two referendums -- one on retrieving the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) stolen assets and one on demanding that high-level officials convicted of corruption return their ill-gotten gains.
The CEC decided on Nov. 16 to adopt the one-step voting procedure, in which election and referendum ballots are handed out to voters at the entrance to polling stations.
However, pan-blue camp politicians and the heads of 18 pan-blue-controlled cities and counties have insisted on adopting the two-step voting scheme, in which voters will have to cast their election ballot before proceeding to cast referendum ballots.
The United Daily News report said that the CEC was now "open to" the two-step voting procedure because voters will be allowed to cast election ballots in the first stage and referendum ballots in the second stage.
"We won't say that the CEC is `open to' the two-step voting procedure. That's the media's wording. But we will hand out referendum ballots to voters who have cast legislative ballots if they want to vote in the referendums and are still inside polling stations," Chang said.
Chang, however, insisted that electoral staff from the local election commissions would have to place desks for the distribution of ballots and voting boxes in line with the setup used in the one-step voting system.
"If voters prefer to cast their legislative ballots before casting their referendum ballots instead of casting the four ballots at the same time, we can't stop them. But I believe that only a small number of voters would do so if they wish to take part in the referendums," Shieh said.
Despite the CEC's concession, the KMT caucus yesterday continued to voice its dissatisfaction with the voting procedure.
KMT caucus whip Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) told a press conference that the proposal was no more than "superficial goodwill," as the procedure remained the same as the "one-step" system favored by the CEC.
"The CEC's so-called `flexible two-step procedure' actually follows the one-step framework ... because the four ballot boxes will still be put next to each other," he said.
"Whether this procedure will help the polls proceed smoothly should be put to further public deliberation," he said.
Tseng also criticized the CEC's amendment to the organic statute of local election commissions on Wednesday that empowers the premier to replace local commission heads on the recommendation of the CEC, saying that the Cabinet had taken over the CEC and local election commissions.
"It's as if martial law had been imposed in Taiwan again ... are we a democracy? What law authorizes the premier to fire local election commissioners? If the Cabinet dares to fire any one of them, the caucus will definitely take the matter to court," Tseng said.
Meanwhile, KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday questioned the CEC's latest decision, adding that the party would respect local government heads' handling of election affairs.
"I don't know if it's the CEC's final decision. We need to wait and see what happens next," Ma said in Banciao, Taipei County.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said only that the city government would follow the decision of Taipei City's Election Commission.
Taipei County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (
In related news, Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
The city election commission received an electronic version of the official notice from the premier in the late afternoon, which appointed commission member Tsai Tien-chi (蔡天啟) to take Wu's seat.
The premier also appointed Wu Chiu-ku (
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY MO YAN-CHIH,
CHEN CHING-MIN AND SU YUNG-YAO
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
RSS