Major political parties may be feeling the crunch in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election as participants in the Sunflower movement announced earlier this week the start of a new movement to promote constitutional reform via the will of the people in hopes of circumventing the restrictions imposed by the Referendum Act (公民投票法).
When the Sunflower movement protesters left the Legislative Yuan on April 10, having occupied it since March 18 in protest against the government’s handling of a proposed cross-strait service trade agreement, student demonstrators said at the time that they were “not done,” and hoped to unify “grassroots power” to spur political reforms without abolishing the standing political framework.
The Civic Constitutional Government Promotion Alliance, founded on Monday and comprising more than 20 civic groups — including Taiwan Democracy Watch, Green Citizens’ Action Alliance and the Taiwan Association for Human Rights — said it is planning more than 60 events across the nation starting in June next year.
The alliance said the plan is to invite the citizenry to stand with them and participate in reforming the constitutional government system.
The alliance added that it had already started the first stage of the movement in September by gathering public opinions about the government and would compile, analyze and summarize them into key points highlighting different areas of government, such as the election system and cross-strait relations.
Pending the situation in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, the alliance plans to hold a citizens’ congress to put pressure on the political parties to heed their demands.
One of the Sunflower movement leaders, Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆), said the citizens’ congress was one of the original demands of the movement, but it was shot down by the government.
The Referendum Act is perhaps the only one in the world with such restrictive standards, and the alliance hopes to circumvent these and force the issue with public support, Lin said.
“There is no better time than now to amend the Constitution,” Lin said, adding he was certain Taiwanese now have enough of a voice since the Sunflower movement to make themselves heard.
Taiwan Association of University Professors president Lu Chung-chin (呂忠津) said that recent events had shown the limitations of the Constitution.
The nation still adheres to an illusory ideal of national identification, Lu said.
“We must recognize that China and Mongolia are sovereign countries in their own right; it is not something that Taiwan’s Constitution could violate,” Lu said.
Any nation wishing to advance must have a clear view of what sovereignty is, Lu said.
Economic Democracy Union convener Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) criticized President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for rejecting the Sunflower movement’s call for a citizen’s congress, adding that the government must come to terms with the problems inherent in the Constitution.
Millet Foundation director-general Huang Chih-hui (黃智慧) described it as an “outdated constitution of a colonial power” ratified in Nanjing, China, in 1947 and then brought over to Taiwan.
It is not the Chinese people who should represent Taiwanese when Taiwan elects its president, Huang said.
The Constitution is lacking in that it does not identify with Taiwanese ethnic groups, she said.
“We must move away from the framework of colonialism and recognize that the Aboriginal tribes play an important role in Taiwan,” she added.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS