Absentee voting not secure
Yesterday, a letter to the editor written by a Mr David Pendery was published in the Taipei Times, arguing about the benefits of absentee voting, no matter in which country a Taiwanese citizen and prospective voter might reside.
In his letter Pendery states that “There is no reason that all of these votes from citizens of Taiwan, wherever they live, would not be ‘certifiable and trustworthy,’” even if they would reside in China.
Pendery does not provide any supporting facts or arguments for why absentee votes cast in China would be “certifiable and trustworthy.” It would be most welcome if Mr Pendery would provide such insights to inform the rest of us.
Methods to cast ballots in elections in a country other than the nation in question include voting in person at an embassy or a consulate, sending a letter, using fax, e-mail or by accessing a Web site portal for some US states and express courier service.
Taiwan does not have any consular services or embassies in China. Letters, faxes and express courier services are subject to screening, and the Internet in China is monitored by design.
To be eligible to vote, registration is required and this registration is undertaken in the foreign country of residence. This is also done by the same or similar means used to cast a ballot.
None of these methods are tamper-proof.
Since it is very much in China’s interest to interfere in Taiwan’s elections, does anyone believe that the Chinese Communist Party would abstain from this opportunity to influence the outcome of an election in Taiwan?
It is in the interest of democracy to encourage and make it easier for all citizens to exercise their right to vote. In some democratic countries it is not only a right, but also an obligation. When it comes to digital voting, most countries agree that although it presents certain advantages by making it easier to vote, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Due to the inherent risk that comes with any Internet-connected device, a ballot cast using this method cannot be considered “certifiable and trustworthy.” When it comes to absentee voting in China, no vote could be considered as such.
If Mr Pendery could argue otherwise, he would be most welcome to present this information in this paper.
The subject and the discussion are valid and necessary, to assess whether absentee ballots could be accepted from China or not. My opinion is that they cannot because they cannot be validated beyond doubt.
The facts regarding absentee voting methods, combined with China’s election interference interest and the inherent risk of tampering, deliberately built into China’s surveillance system, support this understanding.
The most important principle for exercising democracy is being able to cast one’s vote without undue influence and according to one’s own will. There are no such possibilities in China.
Jan Nilsson
Singapore
Taiwan’s fall would be “a disaster for American interests,” US President Donald Trump’s nominee for undersecretary of defense for policy Elbridge Colby said at his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday last week, as he warned of the “dramatic deterioration of military balance” in the western Pacific. The Republic of China (Taiwan) is indeed facing a unique and acute threat from the Chinese Communist Party’s rising military adventurism, which is why Taiwan has been bolstering its defenses. As US Senator Tom Cotton rightly pointed out in the same hearing, “[although] Taiwan’s defense spending is still inadequate ... [it] has been trending upwards
There is nothing the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) could do to stop the tsunami-like mass recall campaign. KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) reportedly said the party does not exclude the option of conditionally proposing a no-confidence vote against the premier, which the party later denied. Did an “actuary” like Chu finally come around to thinking it should get tough with the ruling party? The KMT says the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is leading a minority government with only a 40 percent share of the vote. It has said that the DPP is out of touch with the electorate, has proposed a bloated
In an eloquently written piece published on Sunday, French-Taiwanese education and policy consultant Ninon Godefroy presents an interesting take on the Taiwanese character, as viewed from the eyes of an — at least partial — outsider. She muses that the non-assuming and quiet efficiency of a particularly Taiwanese approach to life and work is behind the global success stories of two very different Taiwanese institutions: Din Tai Fung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC). Godefroy said that it is this “humble” approach that endears the nation to visitors, over and above any big ticket attractions that other countries may have
A media report has suggested that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) was considering initiating a vote of no confidence in Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) in a bid to “bring down the Cabinet.” The KMT has denied that this topic was ever discussed. Why might such a move have even be considered? It would have been absurd if it had seen the light of day — potentially leading to a mass loss of legislative seats for the KMT even without the recall petitions already under way. Today the second phase of the recall movement is to begin — which has
RSS