Taiwanportal |
Part of the Politics series |
Direct democracy |
---|
Politicsportal |
Referendums in Taiwan at both the national and local level are governed by the Referendum Act of Taiwan, which was enacted by the Legislative Yuan in December 2003. Citizens can propose laws via referendums at the national and local levels. The Referendum Act also allowed people to make changes or abolish laws by referendums.
The 7th amendment of the Additional Articles of the Constitution in June 2005 also moved the final ratification process for future constitutional amendment and national territory alternation into a form of referendum. These referendum has a higher bar of proposing and approval set directly by the Constitution outside of the Referendum Act.
While the rights of initiatives and referendums are mentioned in the Three Principles of the People and Chapter 9, Article 136 of the Constitution of 1947, [1] a law pertaining specifically to referendums was not enacted until 2003. The Referendum Act was promoted by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) politicians such as Chai Trong-rong, Lin Yi-hsiung, Yeh Chu-lan, Lu Hsiu-yi, Lin Cho-shui, and the Chen Shui-bian-Annette Lu administration. While both citizens of Taiwan and the Legislative Yuan can initiate the referendum process, the Pan-Blue Coalition held a legislative majority at the time of the act's promulgation, and set an extremely high bar to prevent its application. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
Article 17 of the Referendum Act states "When the country is under the threat of foreign force and the national sovereignty is likely to be changed, the President may, with the resolution of the meeting of the Executive Yuan, apply the matters regarding the national security to referendum." Such a referendum has been held in 2004. [8] [9] [10] [11]
No national referendum question had reached the majority support quota until 2018, when seven questions were approved as part of a ten-question referendum. Three had been successful at the local level. New Power Party, Taiwan Solidarity Union, and some DPP members are major forces in the legislature calling for reform. [12] [13] [14]
The Legislative Yuan revised several sections of the Referendum Act in December 2017. The first round proposal threshold for national and local referendums were cut from 0.1 to 0.01 percent of the electorate in the most recent presidential election, and the second tier proposal threshold for referendums was lowered from 5 to 1.5 percent of the electorate. Additionally, referendums will be declared passed if a majority of voters vote for propositions, and the number of agreeing votes reaches 25 percent of the electorate, instead of 50 percent. [15] [16] [17]
Several amendments to the Referendum Act were proposed in June 2019, among them a requirement for voters to provide a photocopy of their National Identification Card when voting on referendums. [18] An amendment to separate election years from referendum years was passed, and took effect in August 2021. The same amendment also limited referendum voting to every two years, and mandated a specific date for the vote, the fourth Saturday in August. [19] [20]
Article 25 of the Referendum Act was amended in 2018, permitting absentee voting for national referendums, once such procedures were enumerated in a separate law. The Central Election Commission proposed a bill on absentee voting in referendums in 2020, and it was approved by the Executive Yuan in September 2021. [21] [22]
The current Additional Articles of the Constitution designed two topics for a constitutional referendum in Articles 1, 4, and 12: Constitutional amendment and National territory alternation. The constitution has set a high bar in these referendums over Referendum Act.
The process for a constitutional amendment or national territory alternation has to be initiated by one-fourth (25%) of the members of the Legislative Yuan (the unicameral parliament of Taiwan), then voted in the Legislative Yuan with at least three-fourths (75%) members attended and by a three-fourths (75%) supermajority. A constitutional referendum will then be conducted if the amendment is proposed by the Legislative Yuan, the quorum to pass the constitutional referendum is one-half (50%) of all eligible voters have voted yes. [23]
The first constitutional referendum scheduled since the 2005 amendments to the Additional Articles was the 2022 Taiwanese voting age referendum.
There have been twenty national referendums in Taiwan. During the first six, two referendum questions were asked in each of three national elections. [24] [25] In each of these six national referendums, "Yes" votes won a majority over "No" votes. However, the referendum results were invalidated each time due to low turnout rate. According to the Referendum Law, 50% turnout of qualified voters is required for the referendum to be valid. The threshold was not reached in any of the first six national referendums, as the Kuomintang asked its supporters to boycott each referendum. Therefore, the removal of the turnout restriction in the referendum law has been proposed. [26] Several provisions regarding turnout were amended by the Legislative Yuan in December 2017.
Following amendments to the Referendum Act, ten questions were asked during the 2018 Taiwanese referendum, held alongside local elections. The four-question 2021 Taiwanese referendum was scheduled for August and postponed to December due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
National referendum | Date | Proposition No. | Results | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|
2004 Taiwanese cross-Strait relations referendum | March 20, 2004 | 1, 2 | 2 rejected | Held jointly with 2004 Taiwanese presidential election |
2008 Taiwanese transitional justice referendum | January 12, 2008 | 3, 4 | 2 rejected | Held jointly with 2008 Taiwanese legislative election |
2008 Taiwanese United Nations membership referendum | March 22, 2008 | 5, 6 | 2 rejected | Held jointly with 2008 Taiwanese presidential election |
2018 Taiwanese referendum | November 24, 2018 | 7—16 | 7 approved, 3 rejected | Held jointly with 2018 Taiwanese local elections |
2021 Taiwanese referendum | December 18, 2021 | 17—20 | 4 rejected | |
2022 Taiwanese constitutional referendum | November 26, 2022 | Constitutional-1 | rejected | Was held jointly with 2022 Taiwanese local elections |
A national referendum on the state of Kuomintang party assets was proposed in 2006. [27] The Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations was promulgated by the Legislative Yuan in July 2016 to handle the issue instead. [28]
In 2010, the Referendum Review Committee , then controlled by the Pan-Blue Coalition, rejected several referendum proposals against the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, signed in 2010. [29] [30] [31] [32] despite the collection of nearly 200,000 signatures supporting a referendum on Cross-Strait economic pacts. [33] [34] [35] [36] Public opinion surveys show a majority of respondents opposed the signing of the ECFA with China and many experts, politicians, and protesters see a referendum for the ECFA as essential. [37] [38] [39]
In 2016, Kuomintang vice chairman Hau Lung-pin proposed that the fate of a food import ban in place against some prefectures of Japan since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster be decided via referendum. [40] [41] The Kuomintang legislative caucus moved to reduce turnout restrictions so the food import ban could be considered via referendum, but the proposal did not pass at the time. [42] A majority of people voted for question nine of the 2018 national referendum, expressing a desire for the import ban to remain in place. [43] In February 2022, the Tsai Ing-wen presidential administration lifted the import ban for most foodstuffs produced in the region, as long as proper documentation on the origins of the food and results of radiation inspections were provided. Foods from the region that were still banned from the Japanese market at the time of Taiwan's announcement, such as mushrooms, the meat of wild animals, and koshiabura, remained banned in Taiwan. [44] [45]
From 1990 to 2003, sixteen local referendums were called. [46] Since the Referendum Act passed, six local referendums have been held as of 2021. The first one was held in Kaohsiung in 2008 for reducing the size of classes in elementary school and high school. It was invalid due to its low turnout rate. [47] Four other local referendums attempted to legalize casinos and were valid due via special law: the ones held in Penghu in 2009 and 2016 failed [48] while the one held in Lienchiang in 2012 succeeded. [49] A referendum on the establishment of casinos in Kinmen held in 2017 was defeated by low turnout and high opposition. [50] [51] However, as in Mainland China, the largest potential tourist source, has explicitly expressed the opposition of its nationals to engage gambling, no legal casino has yet been established in Taiwan. [52] Residents of Hsinchu passed a referendum about wastewater, held on the same day as the 2021 national referendum. [53] [54]
Division | Date | Proposition No. | Results | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kaohsiung City | November 15, 2008 | 1 | Rejected | |
Penghu County | September 26, 2009 | 1 | Rejected | Proposition to legalize casinos |
Lienchiang County | July 7, 2012 | 1 | Approved | Proposition to legalize casinos |
Penghu County | October 15, 2016 | 2 | Rejected | Proposition to legalize casinos |
Kinmen County | October 28, 2017 | 1 | Rejected | Proposition to legalize casinos |
Hsinchu City | December 18, 2021 | 1 | Approved | Held jointly with 2021 Taiwanese referendum |
The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel voting system.
The National Assembly was the authoritative legislative body of the Republic of China, from 1947 to 2005. Along with the Control Yuan and the Legislative Yuan, the National Assembly formed the tricameral parliament of China. If still functional, at 3,045 members, the National Assembly would have been the largest parliamentary chamber in the world.
The Constitution of the Republic of China is the fifth and current constitution of the Republic of China (ROC), ratified by the Kuomintang during the Constituent National Assembly session on 25 December 1946, in Nanjing, and adopted on 25 December 1947. The constitution, along with its Additional Articles, remains effective in ROC-controlled territories.
The Control Yuan is the supervisory and auditory branch of the government of Taiwan.
The Examination Yuan is the civil service commission branch, in charge of validating the qualification of civil servants, of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). It has a president, a vice president, and seven to nine members, all of whom are nominated by the president of the republic and confirmed by the Legislative Yuan for four-year terms according to Republic of China laws.
An election for the National Assembly took place in Taiwan on Saturday, 14 May 2005, from 07:30 to 16:00 local time. It elected an ad hoc National Assembly whose only function was to serve as a constituent assembly in order to approve or reject amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of China already proposed by the Legislative Yuan. The results indicated that the amendments would be approved, as the parties supporting them won an overwhelming majority, and indeed the amendments were passed on 7 June 2005.
Tsai Ing-wen is a Taiwanese politician who has been serving as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2016. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai is the first female president of Taiwan. She served as chair of the DPP from 2020 to 2022, and also previously from 2008 to 2012 and 2014 to 2018.
Same-sex marriage between citizens became legal in Taiwan on 24 May 2019, making it the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. Marriages between Taiwanese and foreign citizens were initially restricted to citizens of countries that also recognized same-sex marriage. That limitation was rescinded on 19 January 2023. The one remaining exception is citizens of the People's Republic of China — mainland China — because cross-straits marriages must be registered in mainland China before they can apply in Taiwan.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in the Republic of China (Taiwan) are regarded as the most progressive of those in Asia. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal, and same-sex marriage was legalized on 24 May 2019, following a Constitutional Court ruling in May 2017. Same-sex couples are able to jointly adopt children since 2023. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender characteristics in education has been banned nationwide since 2004. With regard to employment, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has also been prohibited by law since 2007.
The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) is a free trade agreement (FTA) between the governments of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China, that aims to reduce tariffs and commercial barriers between the two sides, as well as improve cross-strait relations.
Kuo Lin-yung, is a Taiwanese politician. During his first term on the Legislative Yuan from 1984 to 1987, he was affiliated with the Kuomintang. He returned to the legislature between 2005 and 2008, representing the Taiwan Solidarity Union. He is also a lawyer who has led the Taichung Bar Association and Taiwan Bar Association, and served as deputy minister of justice. In 2010, he was a member of the Referendum Review Committee convened by the Executive Yuan.
Julian Kuo is a Taiwanese political scientist and politician who first served in the Legislative Yuan from 2002 to 2008 and was reappointed to the office in 2016.
Chung Shao-ho is a Taiwanese politician who served in the Legislative Yuan from 1999 to 2012.
Lin Ching-yi is a Taiwanese physician and politician. She was first elected to the Legislative Yuan in 2016, then re-elected in 2022 by by-election.
Mary Chen or Chen Man-li is a Taiwanese environmentalist and politician. A longtime leader of the Homemakers' Union and Foundation and the National Union of Taiwan Women’s Associations, she was an active member of Green Party Taiwan before joining the Democratic Progressive Party in 2015. She represented the DPP in the 2016 legislative elections, and won a seat via party list proportional representation.
Chen Tsiao-long is a Taiwanese politician who served two terms as a member of the Legislative Yuan from 2002 to 2008.
The Anti-Infiltration Act is a law regulating the influence of entities deemed foreign hostile forces on the political processes of the Republic of China, including elections and referendums. The act was passed by the Legislative Yuan on 31 December 2019 and promulgated by the Tsai Ing-wen presidential administration on 15 January 2020. The law has been used to prosecute individuals connected to united front organizations in Taiwan.
A four-question referendum was held in Taiwan on 18 December 2021. The vote was originally scheduled to take place on 28 August 2021, but was postponed to December due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All four questions were popular initiatives. According to the Referendum Act, referendums can be held once every two years on the fourth Saturday of August and questions must gather a number of signatures equivalent to 1.5% of eligible voters (280,000) in order to qualify.
A constitutional referendum was held in Taiwan on 26 November 2022. Voters voted on adding Article 1-1 to the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China. If passed, the voting age would be lowered from 20 to 18 years. The amendment would also lower the minimum age of candidacy from 23 to 18 years, but would only have an effect once the relevant electoral laws are amended accordingly.
Chou Chun-mi is a Taiwanese politician. She was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 2016 and served until 2022, when she took office as Magistrate of Pingtung County.