A survey released yesterday by a polling firm found that a push to lower the voting age from 20 to 18 does not enjoy majority support among the public, echoing findings recently cited by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
The poll by Taiwan Indicators Survey Research contained questions to gauge how the push to lower the voting age — highlighted during the student-led Sunflower movement — was perceived by the public.
The survey first asked respondents whether they supported or opposed reducing the voting age to 18.
The result showed that 17.4 percent said they strongly supported the idea and 21 percent were leaning toward supporting it.
Of the remaining respondents, 30.2 percent said they strongly opposed the idea, 21.9 percent were leaning toward opposing it and 9.5 percent did not give their views.
Respondents were asked the same question again after they were told by pollsters that young people over 18 can get a driver’s license, take national civil service exams, apply for early enlistment in the military and cast a ballot in a political party primary.
They were also told that 18-year-olds hold full adult criminal responsibility, despite the Civil Code stipulating that adulthood begins at age 20.
Support increased to 40.2 percent of the respondents, while 48.2 percent remained opposed and 11.6 percent did not answer.
While 18-year-olds have voting rights in more than 90 percent of democratic nations in the world,
Taiwan lacks a consensus on the issue — which would require a constitutional amendment, as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has proposed — the research firm said.
Earlier this week, the DPP vowed to push for a constitutional amendment to lower the voting age in response to the appeal made by student groups and activists following the Sunflower movement, but the Ma administration has rejected any constitutional reform and urged the DPP to prioritize the nation’s economic needs.
The government had said that a survey by the National Development Committee late last month and a recent poll by the KMT’s research center both found that more than 55 percent of the public were opposed to lowering the voting age.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS