The Cabinet yesterday remove an amendment to the Referendum Law (公民投票法) implemented by the former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government that lowered the threshold to initiate a referendum and to determine its validity.
“This is not an indication of the government’s opposition to lower referendums thresholds, but rather in reaction to the fact that society is divided on the matter,” Deputy Minister of the Interior Lai Feng-wei (賴峰偉) said.
The law, which was enacted by the Chinese Nationalist Party-dominated (KMT) legislature in 2003, stipulates that the number of signatures required for a referendum to be considered is 0.5 percent of the electorate participating in the latest presidential election — or approximately 16 million individuals — with an additional 5 percent of the population needed for a referendum to be held.
Describing the law as a “bird cage” law with excessively high thresholds for putting a referendum proposal on the ballot and passing it, the former DPP government had suggested cutting the threshold to 0.003 percent and 1.5 percent respectively.
“The amendment would substantially reduce the threshold. As it is a major issue, further discussion is needed before consensus can be reached,” Lai said.
Lai said another matter was a constitutional interpretation by the Council of Grand Justices on July 11, which said that the party-based selection of members of the Referendum Supervisory Committee was unconstitutional.
The committee is authorized by law to review referendum petitions.
Grand justices said that the article concerning the make-up of the committee denied the premier the power of making personnel appointments and invalidated that ruling a year after it was made.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet yesterday passed an amendment to College Schools Law (專科學校法) that would allow disabled students to extend their years of study by abolishing existing regulation that stipulates a maximum delay of two years.
The Cabinet also approved a draft bill regarding the establishment of science parks to develop industrial clusters in the Agri-Bio technology sector.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
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