Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Referendum Act not fit for purpose, academics say

Taipei Times

A National Human Rights preliminary report scheduled to be released by the Presidential Office later this month should include a review of the Referendum Act (公民投票法), which deprives people of their rights, a number of academics said yesterday.

The act, enacted in 2003, has been dubbed “birdcage” legislation because of the unreasonably high threshold needed to launch a referendum drive.

The act stipulates that a referendum proposal, after completing a first stage whereby signatures from 0.5 percent of the number of eligible voters in the previous presidential election have been collected, must obtain approval from the Referendum Review Committee before it can proceed to the next stage, which involves collecting signatures from 5 percent of voters.

No blank check for Ma and ‘1992 consensus’

Allen Houng 洪裕宏

The word “consensus” refers to “recognition and agreement.” If the Taiwanese and Chinese governments had reached a so-called “1992 consensus,” this would mean that the two governments agreed on the content of a particular agreement. Evidence would suggest otherwise.

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) says the “1992 consensus” means “one China, with each side having its own interpretation.” According to this logic, Taipei and Beijing both recognize and agree on the “one China” principle, but it is up to the two governments how they interpret the meaning of “one China.” Judging from the actions taken by the Chinese government around the world, this “1992 consensus” is a complete lie.

Now Ma suddenly loves the ROC flag

Taipei Times Editorial

After a recent TV campaign blitz launched by President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) re-election campaign office featuring the Republic of China (ROC) national flag, one cannot help but wonder whether Ma’s campaign staff are deranged or are simply assuming for some unknown reason that Taiwanese will not remember Ma’s track record on the national flag.

One TV ad released by Ma’s campaign office focused on the passion Taiwanese feel for the flag and the nation, while another thanked anyone who had ever waved an ROC flag, praising their patriotism and calling them the true guardians of the nation’s dignity.

Unfortunately for Ma, while he may see nothing ironic about holding himself up as a defender of Taiwanese dignity, the two TV ads remind people of the way the ROC flag has been trampled on during his three years in office.

US seeks to reassure DPP on neutrality

Taipei Times

The US reassured the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of its neutrality in January’s presidential election with an unusual diplomatic gesture yesterday, former representative to the US Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said.

The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) sent an unprecedented five officials, including AIT Director William Stanton, to the DPP’s 25th anniversary reception, Wu told reporters on the sidelines of the celebration at the W Hotel in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義).

The move represented the US’ respect for the DPP, Wu said, adding that he had never seen more than two US officials at similar events.

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