A recall vote of Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) in his constituency in Taichung is to be postponed from next month to October, the Central Election Commission said on Friday, citing COVID-19 restrictions.
The vote is to be held on Oct. 23, from 8am to 4pm, the commission said.
The vote would not be held on its originally scheduled date, Aug. 28, because preparations have been “greatly disrupted and delayed” amid the level 3 COVID-19 alert, which is to remain in place until at least July 26, it said.
Setting up polling stations at schools and other venues, as well as the recruitment and training of polling staff, has been affected by school closures and a ban on indoor gatherings of more than four people, it said.
The commission ruled out holding the recall vote on the same day as national referendums, which have also been postponed, from Aug. 28 to Dec. 18.
Holding the recall vote and the referendums on the same day would distract from the recall, the commission said, adding that separate dates would ensure that “the results are consistent with public opinion.”
Holding the recall vote later than Oct. 23 would also risk undermining voters’ rights, it said.
In response to the announcement, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) called the commission’s reasoning “nonsensical.”
By separating the dates, the commission is trying to discourage people from voting in the recall, the KMT said in a statement.
Attention on the recall vote would be diminished if it is not held on the same day as the nationwide referendums, it said.
Meanwhile, Chen said in a Facebook livestream that he does not have a problem with the postponement, adding that people should cast their ballot on polling day.
The 35-year-old first-time lawmaker last year won his legislative seat narrowly against then-incumbent KMT lawmaker Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恆).
Yang Wen-yuan (楊文元), who initiated the recall campaign, said that Chen had been neglecting his constituency, behaving outrageously in the legislature and on social media, and had supported the government’s decision to lift a ban on the importation of pork containing residue of the feed additive ractopamine.
With the recall vote now set for a later date, the commission is expected to announce the number of eligible voters by Oct. 19.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the