Two referendum proposals on drafting a new constitution were rejected by the Central Election Commission (CEC) yesterday on the grounds that their wording lacked clarity and did not meet procedural regulations.
Five proposals were discussed at a commission meeting.
The two constitution proposals — both initiated by independence advocate Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) — asked: “Do you support the president in pushing for the establishment of a new constitution reflecting the reality of Taiwan?” and: “Do you support the president in initiating a constitutional reform process for the country?”
Two hearings on July 14 and July 16 were held about the proposals, the commission said, adding that commission members believe parts of the questions lack a clear definition, such as “pushing for,” “reflecting the reality of Taiwan” and “initiating a constitutional reform process.”
Whether the establishment of a new constitution and constitutional reform are acceptable referendum questions was another concern, it said.
The commission asked for revised proposals, but only one was submitted and it arrived after the deadline, it said.
The commission also reviewed a proposal made last month by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), which asked: “Do you agree that referendums should be held on the same day as nationwide elections, if a nationwide election is scheduled to be held one to six months after a referendum proposal has been approved?”
It also reviewed KMT caucus whip Lin Wei-chou’s (林為洲) submission, which reads: “Do you agree that the government should impose a complete ban on the importation of meat, offal and related products from pigs fed leanness-enhancing agents, including ractopamine and other beta-agonists?”
Lin’s proposal came after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Aug. 28 announced that the government would set standards for ractopamine residue in US pork, lifting an import ban.
Conclusions reached at the meeting included that hearings should be held on the two KMT proposals, the commission said.
The last item was a proposal by Pan Chong-cheng (潘忠政), convener of the Alliance for the Rescue of the Datan Algae Reefs, which asked: “Do you agree that the CPC’s third liquefied natural gas terminal should be moved away from the algal reefs and sea near Taoyuan’s coastal Datan area?” referring to CPC Corp, Taiwan’s construction in Datan Village (大潭) in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音).
Pan’s proposal should be amended and resubmitted, the commission said.
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
Taiwan’s population last year shrank further and births continued to decline to a yearly low, the Ministry of the Interior announced today. The ministry published the 2024 population demographics statistics, highlighting record lows in births and bringing attention to Taiwan’s aging population. The nation’s population last year stood at 23,400,220, a decrease of 20,222 individuals compared to 2023. Last year, there were 134,856 births, representing a crude birth rate of 5.76 per 1,000 people, a slight decline from 2023’s 135,571 births and 5.81 crude birth rate. This decrease of 715 births resulted in a new record low per the ministry’s data. Since 2016, which saw
SECURITY: To protect the nation’s Internet cables, the navy should use buoys marking waters within 50m of them as a restricted zone, a former navy squadron commander said A Chinese cargo ship repeatedly intruded into Taiwan’s contiguous and sovereign waters for three months before allegedly damaging an undersea Internet cable off Kaohsiung, a Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) investigation revealed. Using publicly available information, the Liberty Times was able to reconstruct the Shunxing-39’s movements near Taiwan since Double Ten National Day last year. Taiwanese officials did not respond to the freighter’s intrusions until Friday last week, when the ship, registered in Cameroon and Tanzania, turned off its automatic identification system shortly before damage was inflicted to a key cable linking Taiwan to the rest of
RSS