The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-dominated legislature yesterday passed the Organic Act of the Central Election Commission (中央選舉委員會組織法) that would empower the legislature to approve or reject CEC members nominated by the premier.
The legislature voted in favor of a KMT proposal to require the current CEC to be dismissed once new members are appointed.
Passage of the Act makes it impossible for members of the current CEC to finish their term of office in June next year.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said the KMT would not hesitate to nominate new members of the CEC now that the amendment was passed.
DPP Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) accused President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of trying to control the CEC by dismissing the current commission.
Organization of the CEC has been a subject of debate between the KMT and the DPP for years, with the KMT questioning the legitimacy of the current election body because it follows the Organic Regulation of the CEC (中央選舉委員會組織規程), which does not hold the same status as a law.
The bill that passed yesterday authorizes the premier to relieve the commission’s chairman or vice chairman of his or her duties on the grounds of illness, violation of the law or negligence of duty if they are detained by police or indicted for any crime.
KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Tsao Erh-chang (曹爾忠) blamed the DPP for “prolonging the legalization of the organization of the CEC.”
“Elections are important in a democracy. How are we going to have a sound democracy if our CEC fails to transcend party lines and is manipulated by the DPP?” Tsao asked on the legislative floor.
While not fully satisfied with the newly adopted Act, CEC Chairman Chang Cheng-hsiung (張政雄) yesterday still welcomed the move.
“The completion of the legislative process of the law meets public expectations despite the fact that there are some controversial clauses in it,” Chang said in a written statement.
“While the CEC should be the highest independent body in charge of elections, it’s regrettable that [after the Act takes effect] the CEC [will not be] given the authority to be in charge of all laws and policies regarding elections and recalls,” he said.
“Instead, such powers [will] rest in the hands of the Ministry of the Interior, which is neither a professional nor an independent institution when it comes to handling elections,” the CEC chairman said.
Chang said that because the CEC had no power over election laws and policies, it would not be able to oversee candidates’ handling and use of campaign funds, “which may help to create unfair elections.”
On the other hand, CEC member Lai Hao-min (賴浩敏) viewed the law as something positive.
“Of course it’s always good that there is actually a law regulating how the CEC should be organized,” Lai said before going into a CEC meeting yesterday. “I hope that the CEC will be able to hold elections based on the principles of fairness and justice from now on.”
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its