The DPP legislative caucus called the legislation process illegal and said it will file a constitutional interpretation of the legislation.

DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming yesterday said, "It is a regret that the referendum legislation was processed in a cursory manner. Provisions No. 2, No. 14 and No. 28 of the law go against the Constitution and the DPP legislative caucus will request a constitutional interpretation."

DPP Legislator Chen Chun-hsin said yesterday that provision 28 of the law was redundant as it stipulates that people can only ratify a constitutional amendment once 75 percent of legislators approved the bill and the bill was subsequently approved by a meeting of the National Assembly.

"Provision No. 2 of the law enables the people to vote in a referendum on a constitutional amendment, but provision No. 28 makes an additional requirement that the legislative body and an extraordinary National Assembly also approve it. It's redundant," Chen said.

"The pan-blue alliance admitted privately the awkwardness of the provisions, but was unwilling to make corrections to them," Chen said.

Responding to the DPP's accusation of a biased ruling on Thursday's reading of the law, Wang admitted yesterday there were flaws, but said the mistakes were corrected immediately.

In response to the Cabinet's proposal to override the Referendum Law, KMT caucus whip Lee Chia-chin said yesterday that, given the dominance of pan-blue lawmakers, it would be easy for them to veto the Cabinet's proposal to reject the bill. The Cabinet's plan would be vetoed if half of the lawmakers disapprove of it.

In addition to requesting a constitutional interpretation, DPP headquarters yesterday proposed initiating a referendum drive to veto the law.

DPP Deputy Secretary-General Lee Ying-yuan said the party will initiate a referendum drive based on the new law, which requires at least 75,000 people to bring the proposal forward and 750,000 people to endorse the plan.

Lee said if the Referendum Supervisory Committee approves such a referendum proposal, the referendum to toss out the referendum law could be held before the next presidential election, scheduled for March 20.

However, Lee said, if the referendum overseeing body set up to screen the topics allowed for a referendum rejects the proposal, the referendum could instead coincide with the Legislative Election at the end of next year.

"The opposition alliance passed a ridiculous referendum law. The DPP will not rule out all means possible to reject such a consequence," Lee said.

Chen says direct democracy hasn't arrived yet

By Lin Chieh-yu

STAFF REPORTER

The Legislative Yuan has passed the Referendum Law, but President Chen Shui-bian said yesterday that there is a long way to go toward establishing the mechanism of direct democracy.

"Many in the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] have made great efforts to realize the Referendum Law," Chen said while inspecting a construction site in Taoyuan County.

"Since I declared in June that I would call a national referendum on three topics, many [pan-blue] politicians have criticized me and tried their best to oppose the idea," Chen said.

"They told the public that the referendum is equal to independence and will only bring war," Chen said. "Now, they have followed my idea and they became the main power that facilitated the passage of the Referendum Law."

The president said that although the DPP is not satisfied with the new law, the government is confident that obstacles on the road to referendums will be removed soon.

"People will realize which party is against democracy and reform," Chen said.

The rival pan-green and pan-blue camps both decided to hold campaign rallies in Taoyuan County this weekend.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan plans to elaborate on the pan-blue alliance's referendum platform.

"Lien will announce that the KMT-PFP alliance plans to hold five national referendums on the same day of the presidential election next March," said KMT Legislator Hsu Chung-hsiung. "Those referendums will address ethnic solidarity, national debt accumulation, educational reform, increases in National Health Insurance premiums and free trade at the Kaohsiung City harbor."

Lien said the biggest differences between the pan-blue and DPP versions of the referendum bill were that the pan-blue camp wants to maintain the ROC's structure; that its referendum aims to solve people's problems instead of creating problems; and that the pan-blue camp will create happiness for the people. Lien said the blue camp's referendum plan is a boost to national development, unlike the DPP's version, which he called a hurdle to economic development.

VCDs could harm green and blue camps

By Huang Tai-lin

STAFF REPORTER

"Given that various pan-blue politicians have lashed out so strongly against the VCDs, you know the content must have stepped on their sore spots in one way or another. To voters who have already sided with the DPP, the VCDs would just further consolidate their identification with the pan-green camp."－Chiu Hei-yuan, political observer and sociology professor at National Taiwan University

As the controversy surrounding the Special Report VCDs mounts, analysts have predicted that both the pan-blue and pan-green camps would find it increasingly difficult to escape their negative impact in the upcoming presidential elec-tion.

Special Report is a series of satirical VCDs that poke fun at Taiwan's politicians, especially pan-blue officials. The controversial contents and blatant language brought the series to nationwide attention, and a spate of lawsuits have been filed as a result of the VCDs' publication.

Chiu Hei-yuan, a political observer and sociology professor at National Taiwan University, said the controversy over Special Report has complicated the election plans of both the pan-green and pan-blue camps in the run-up to the presidential election in March.

The pan-green camp, who favors Taiwanese independence, consists of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its political ally, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU).

The pro-unification Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP) form the pan-blue camp.

"The controversial VCD series has created a complex situation with both positive and negative implications for the pan-green and pan-blue camps," Chiu said.

According to Chiu, one positive effect as far as the pan-green camp is concerned is the media breakthrough the very existence of the VCDs has created.

"Many supporters of the pan-green camp have long felt that the vast majority of Taiwanese media are biased against the pan-greens. [The VCDs] therefore appeared to score a breakthrough and provided an alternative outlet for pan-green supporters to speak out to counter the lunacy which they perceived in the pro-pan-blue media," Chiu said.

The uproar about the VCDs also had a negative impact on the pan-blue camp, he said.

"Given that various pan-blue politicians have lashed out so strongly against the VCDs, you know the content must have stepped on their sore spots in one way or another," Chiu said.

Lu Tung-long, head of Bi-sheng Broadcasting, the company which produced the VCDs, said on Tuesday that the filming of the next 10 episodes in the Special Report series had been completed. The company will continue releasing the episodes in Taiwan.

Part I and II of the series are currently in wide circulation.

But the continued production of the series is not expected to have much of an effect on voters' opinions.

"To voters who have already sided with the DPP, the VCDs would just further consolidate their identification with the pan-green camp. Likewise, to those who already are strong pan-blue supporters, the VCDs would only deepen their dislike of the DPP," Chiu said.

Taking voters' psychological perspective into account, Chiu said the VCDs would probably have the greatest impact on the opinion of undecided voters.

Chiu said that undecided voters would most likely be put off by the series' "vulgar language" and agitation.

Ger Yeong-kuang, a professor of political science at National Taiwan University, said the continued production of the Special Report series would draw undecided voters further away from supporting the DPP.

"The undecided voters are mostly younger, well-educated people. They appear to be more mature and more rational and thus the slanderous nature of the VCDs would only gross them out and prompt them to turn their back on the DPP," Ger said.

"For the same reason, the VCDs would also turn off female voters," Ger said.

According to Ger continuing the series would do more damage to the DPP than to its opponents, but Chiu said that if the language and abusive content were to be toned down in subsequent episodes, the series could benefit the pan-green camp.

The VCDs could provide an alternative source of information to undecided voters, help to unmask the pan-blue camp's shortcomings and prompt voters to lean towards the pan-green camp, Chiu said.

Poll shows great support for status quo

SOVEREIGNTY: Eighty percent of people polled by the MAC prefer to leave the issue alone, although some wish to preserve the status quo longer than others

By Melody Chen

STAFF REPORTER

A poll conducted between Nov. 12 and Nov. 15 -- before the legislature passed a referendum law that allows an independence vote only under very narrow circumstances -- shows that 80 percent of the public prefers Taiwan maintain the status quo regarding its sovereignty.

The poll also shows that those who support maintaining the status quo differ on how long they wish for the status quo to conti-nue.

The poll was published yesterday by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC).

Past polls conducted by the council on the same issue have showed outcomes similar to the most recent one.

The poll shows that nearly 70 percent of those questioned believe the Chinese authorities have been unfriendly to the government of Taiwan.

Chen Ming-tong, the council's vice chairman, while commenting on the likely impact of the passage of the referendum law on cross-strait relations, called for China to better understand Taiwan's push for deeper democracy.

"The government," Chen said, "is clear about its determination to maintain cross-strait peace and stability and defend the country's sovereignty."

"We hope that China can correctly understand the steps Taiwan is taking in the process of its democratization," he said.

"If China will correctly understand these steps," Chen said, "it can avoid causing unnecessary ten-sion."

Chen described China's recent rhetoric on Taiwan's pursuit of a referendum law as "unnecessary comments" that distort Taiwan's efforts to deepen its democracy.

Beijing, which has cast the bid by Taiwan's leaders for a referendum law as a step toward independence, and has threatened to use military force, remained quiet after Thursday's passage of the referendum law.

The Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council, which had warned Taiwan to expect "a strong response" from Beijing if it passed an "unrestricted" referendum law, merely said yesterday that it was "seriously concerned" about the passage of the law.

Beijing's muted response to the controversial bill will not last long, said Philip Yang, professor of political science at National Taiwan University.

"The US may have sent behind-the-scenes messages to both Beijing and Taipei over the referendum issue, but it certainly does not want to be looked upon as interfering in the internal affairs of a young democracy like Taiwan's," Yang said.

The US, Yang said, has played the role of a "political balancer" in the controversy surrounding the referendum bill, which has affected trilateral relations between Beijing, Taipei and Washington.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, during his visit to the US next month, will continue asking Washington to intervene in Taiwan's internal affairs, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Parris Chang said in a televised interview.

Admitting the US has expressed concerns over the referendum bill, Chang, a member of the legislature's Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee, said Washington worries that the law's passage would give China more ammunition with which to attack Taiwan's moves toward indepen-dence.

"The referendum bill is not China's only concern," Chang said.

"China is also worried President Chen Shui-bian will be reelected. Making Chen fail in next year's presidential election is China's primary purpose in intervening in the [referendum] issue," Chang said.

PRC threats might be more than empty talk

By Bill Chang

On Nov. 17, Wang Zaixi, vice minister of the Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council, said that Taiwan's push for independence has crossed China's line in the sand and risks war. Wang Daohan, chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, also publicly criticized Taiwan's move.

This is the first time that high-ranking Chinese officials have denounced President Chen Shui-bian's stance since the campaign for the nation's presidential election was launched. It is also the first time that military force was mentioned. It will be worth noting whether China will resort to saber-rattling again.

Many people are of the opinion that Beijing will not repeat what it did in 1996, so as to avoid helping Chen secure his re-election. This reasoning is based on the facts that China's missile tests in 1996 led to a landslide victory for former president Lee Teng-hui and that, in 2000, then Chinese premier Zhu Rongji's intimidation turned out to help Chen win the election. But actually this discourse is flawed.

In 1996, Lee was at the apex of his power in terms of legitimacy (as president and leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT]), his political performance (the nation's economy was at a peak in 1996) and the KMT's organizational strength. His pro-unification opponents did not have the same competitive qualifications.

Lee's clear-cut victory was inevitable even without China's military drills. In 2000, after Zhu issued a strongly worded statement, Chen's approval ratings actually dropped. For Beijing, therefore, the argument that threatening to use military force will create negative counter effects is not backed by facts.

Today, if China really resorts to its old tricks, a crucial point might be the drastic change in the KMT's attitude toward referendum legislation and the constitutional issue.

Though China has never been nice to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), that doesn't mean that Beijing is afraid of the DPP's push for Taiwan independence. This is because the DPP has never garnered more than half of the votes in any national election and the pan-blue force would naturally contain the DPP through inter-party struggles. Simply put, the DPP will not get anywhere.

But the problem would become serious if the KMT also were to favor independence. Since the DPP would not oppose the KMT on this issue, the pro-independence movement could secure a majority and become a force to be reckoned with. That's why China must take it seriously.

In contrast, China had no response when the DPP won the 2000 presidential election and became the majority party in the legislature. Nor did Beijing respond when Chen visited the US and put forth his "one country on each side" dictum. This is not because Beijing prefers the DPP. This is based on its fundamental understanding of Taiwan's political situation.

In addition, some KMT members do not support Chairman Lien Chan's bold proposals about referendums and constitutional reforms, but they cannot express their opposition now. Once China acts, it may have an effect on these people, thus bringing the KMT back to its original stance. This is what China wants to see.

Another key lies in the US. With al-Qaeda members recently threatening reprisals, the US has stepped up its security alert, a move that undoubtedly affects its military deployment.

At the same time, there are no signs of a resolution of the military conflict in Iraq in the near future. Beijing might assume that the risk of external interference is decreasing. Taiwan should prepare against China's military threats.

Bill Chang is a former deputy director of the DPP's Chinese Affairs Department.

Yu lashes out at legislature over referendum law

By Lin Chieh-yu

STAFF REPORTER

Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday severely criticized the Legislative Yuan for passing what he called a bad referendum law, saying that the legislature, which is dominated by the pan-blue alliance, has violated the essence of democracy to expand its own power. He accused the pan-blue camp of fattening their purses and practicing dictatorship.

"The bill that was passed yesterday has deprived the Executive Yuan of the right to initiate referendums, and some of the articles even contradict the Constitution," Yu said.

Yu made these remarks yesterday morning before he went to the Legislative Yuan for a hearing.

He stressed that since citizens cannot initiate a referendum on the issue of constitutional reform, it will be impossible for the legislature to realize the importance of parliamentary reforms, such as downsizing the number of seats in the Legislative Yuan and improving the election mechanism.

"The Taiwanese people have long expected to ... cut the number of seats in the legislature, which has been criticized as the source of chaos. The passage of the law has expanded the power of the Legislative Yuan and the public has lost their basic rights," Yu said.

He said that this amounted to an assembly dictatorship, because any reform of the legislature would involve constitutional amendments, and these amendments must be approved by the legislators.

"Therefore it would be impossible to bring about reform in the Legislature," he said.

In response to a question about whether the Cabinet would propose overturning the new Referendum Law, Yu said that the Executive Yuan does not rule out the possibility, but this would have to wait until they have received more details about the bill.

Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng said that the bill would not be finalized until next Tuesday and that all parties still have room to reconsider the decision.

"There were some minor flaws during the legislative process, and all articles need to go through a final correction," Wang said.