Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairman Chang Cheng-hsiung (張政雄) defended the commission's decision to schedule the legislative elections for Jan. 12 next year, as pan-blue lawmakers assailed him with conspiracy theories in a legislative committee yesterday.
The commission had announced last Friday that the next legislative elections would be held on Jan. 12, citing the Public Service Election and Recall Law (公職人員選舉罷免法), which states that elections for the next legislative session must finish at least ten days before the present session expires on Jan. 31 next year.
Commencing the next round of elections on Jan. 12, commission spokesman Teng Tien-you (鄧天祐) had said, would ensure they would be completed by Jan. 21.
scheming
Pan-blue lawmakers have slammed the commission for not consulting them on the date, claiming the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and commission are conniving to manipulate election results by pushing the election dates as far back as legally possible.
Quizzing Chang in the Home and Nations legislative committee yesterday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) fired another conspiracy theory at Chang -- that pushing back the legislative elections to January at the pan-green camp's behest gives them more time to collect signatures for referendums, which in turn could impact on election results in a way that favors the DPP.
"Legislator," Chang replied, "the date was selected so that elections wouldn't interfere with civil service and academic examinations, and could avoid business holidays."
The commission is also required to announce the legislative election dates six months before they happen, Chang said.
tight-lipped
Asked if the legislative and presidential elections would be held together, Chang remained tightlipped, saying that the next CEC session, which begins next month, would decide that matter.
The current CEC session expires on June 26.
The DPP is planning referendums on sensitive matters pertaining to cross-strait issues for both the legislative and presidential elections in order to influence their outcomes, Ting alleged.
The referendums, he said, would further mobilize pan-green voters for both elections, giving pan-green candidates an edge.
The lawmaker did not back up his accusations with any evidence.
The DPP and commission have yet to definitely announce any upcoming referendums.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese
RSS