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Take ECFA to the people by holding
referendum
By Hong Chi-chang 洪奇昌
Wednesday, Mar 31, 2010, Page 8
After more than a year of the government trying to push an economic cooperation
framework agreement (ECFA) with China, the majority of people in Taiwan are
still none the wiser.
Given the situation and the importance of the agreement for the future of the
country, we would suggest that the time is ripe for the government to hold a
national referendum on the issue.
When the Referendum Act (公民投票法) was passed, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
lawmakers rejected a clause that would have given the government the right to
hold, on its own initiative, advisory referendums on issues of national
interest.
Consequently, even though the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)and Taiwan
Solidarity Union (TSU) attempted to force a referendum last year on whether the
government should go ahead and arrange a referendum on the ECFA, effectively a
referendum on having a referendum, the Cabinet’s Referendum Review Committee
still vetoed the proposal on the grounds that it “lacked substantial content.”
It goes without saying that this kind of law is an obstacle to people’s rights.
The Referendum Act, dubbed the “Birdcage Referendum Act” because of the reduced
format in which it was finally passed, barely made it into law.
However, Article 2 of the Act does state that referendums can be used to
“advocate the institution or annulment of major policies of the central
government,” while Article 16 grants the legislature the right to propose
referendums on important government policies.
Once any proposed referendum has been agreed to by the legislature, the Central
Election Commission would then be expected to set the wheels in motion. This is
one possible way forward.
As this is a vote on a “substantial policy,” it should be put to an open ballot,
with the legislators voting according to the opinion of their own constituents,
reflecting the wishes of the people they are supposed to represent.
Article 16 was later ruled constitutional by the Council of Grand Justices in
Interpretation No. 645.
In this case, once the referendum proposal has been agreed in the legislature,
it can be passed without the need for it to go through the referendum committee.
The KMT has a majority in the legislature, and they should be championing an
ECFA referendum on the strength of both party politics and responsible politics.
The KMT has continually emphasized the importance and benefits of an ECFA. If
the government is truly confident in the agreement, and believe that it is the
right thing to do for the country and the people, then they should be actively
seeking the public’s show of support for, and endorsement of, the agreement.
This being the case, you would expect them to actually be quite positive about
the idea of holding a referendum on the issue with no further delay. What would
they possibly have to lose?
Unlike issues put to referendums in the past, the government’s ECFA policy is a
significant issue involving the livelihood of the Taiwanese and the economy.
Holding a referendum like this would be a good way to have the policy discussed
at length through rational debate, and would go some way toward making up for
the current failings in representative politics in this country.
Hong Chi-chang is former chairman of the Straits Exchange
Foundation and a former Democratic Progressive Party legislator.
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