The Control Yuan yesterday voted 9-3 to impeach former Central Election Commission (CEC) chairman Chen In-chin (陳英鈐) for allegedly publishing a revised version of the Executive Yuan’s opinions on referendums weeks before several referendums were held alongside the nine-in-one elections on Nov. 24 last year.
The members who voted in favor of impeachment were Eugene Jao (趙永清), Chang Kuei-mei (仉桂美), Chiang Chi-wen (江綺雯), Fang Wan-fu (方萬富), Chiang Ming-tsang (江明蒼), Yang Fang-ling (楊芳玲), Tsai Pei-tsun (蔡培村), Lin Ya-feng (林雅鋒) and Chang Jen-hsiang (章仁香). Lin Sheng-fong (林盛豐), Tsai Chung-yi (蔡崇義) and Kao Yung-chen (高涌誠) voted against.
Control Yuan member Gau Fehng-shian (高鳳仙) initiated an investigation after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator William Tseng (曾銘宗) and family values group Happiness of the Next Generation Alliance in November last year filed a complaint accusing Chen of breaching the Referendum Act (公民投票法) by publishing the material.
Photo: CNA
The investigation found that the commission on Oct. 24 published an initial version of the opinions regarding the referendums and on Nov. 2 last year published a second version for referendums Nos. 9 to 15, despite the act requiring them to be released 28 days in advance, the Control Yuan said in a written statement.
Chen did not convene a meeting on the matter before republishing the opinions as required by the Organic Law of the Central Election Commission (中選會組織法), the Control Yuan said.
While the Taipei High Administrative Court on Nov. 7 ruled that the commission’s republished opinions were illegal, the CEC did not withdraw them until Nov. 20, after its appeal was dismissed, the Control Yuan said.
To correct its mistake, the commission spent more than NT$9 million (US$295,994) to publish the original version of the opinions in major newspapers, causing the government financial loss and damaging its credibility, the Control Yuan said.
Chen said he respects the Control Yuan’s authority, but added that rules in the act are flawed.
Before republishing the opinions, he had consulted the commission’s Department of Planning and confirmed that there was precedent, he said, adding that the government should explain what referendum results mean as necessary.
The act forced the commission to hold 10 referendums alongside the local elections, giving it limited time to prepare, he said.
It is “regrettable” that the Control Yuan is blaming problems caused by a poor system on him alone, he said.
Of the seven referendums, three were about how same-sex marriage should be handled and two were about whether homosexuality should be taught at elementary and junior-high schools.
One was over whether to maintain restrictions on food imports from Japanese regions after the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster and one was about whether to the national team should use “Taiwan” at the Tokyo Olympics next year.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe
RSS