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Public call to explain need for a
referendum
By Yen Chueh-an 顏厥安
Thursday, May 27, 2010, Page 8
‘Democracy is Taiwan’s most valuable asset, and referendums are one way
through which democracy is put into practice.’
The government is planning to sign a cross-strait economic cooperation framework
agreement (ECFA) with China. This is a major agreement that will have a major
influence on the nation’s long-term development. It will affect not only the
economy and trade, but also other areas such as sovereignty, democracy, society,
culture, gender issues and environmental protection.
The impact of the agreement will not be limited to what Democratic Progressive
Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) called “the greatest redistribution
of wealth in Taiwan,” as it will probably involve an overall restructuring of
Taiwanese society. This is why academics and non-governmental organizations have
joined forces and initiated a campaign called “Strive for Justice.”
A few days ago, a proposal to hold a referendum asking the public whether they
wanted the government to sign an ECFA with China was submitted to the Cabinet’s
Referendum Review Committee for review. The committee is expected to make a
decision early next month.
Because the Referendum Act (公民投票法) rules out referendums on tax and investment
issues and the government bills an ECFA as purely a trade and economic issue,
the committee will very likely reject the proposal. This is another reason
behind the formation of the “Strive for Justice” campaign.
Through this campaign, the organizers hope to demonstrate and convince the
referendum review committee that an ECFA is not purely a tax and investment
agreement, but rather a major policy that should be decided through a
plebiscite. The organizers aim to compile a list of reasons for supporting a
referendum by encouraging people from all walks of life to put forward their
reasons — based on their experience and expertise — for demanding that the issue
be decided in a referendum.
Democracy is Taiwan’s most valuable asset, and referendums are one way through
which democracy is put into practice. Although the Referendum Act is
impractical, we hope to compile a comprehensive set of reasons, with the help of
the public, to persuade the committee to accept the referendum proposal.
In the course of launching this campaign, we have thought hard and long about
the issues — whether an ECFA constitutes a major policy, whether the government
should provide the public with more information, and whether it is reasonable to
demand that the issue be decided in a referendum.
In other words, we are practicing democratic deliberation. This is also why we
are hoping that everyone who is concerned about the nation’s future will take
part by writing down the reasons why they support a referendum on an ECFA and
send it to the Platform for the Defense of Taiwanese Democracy at tdw2012@gmail.com.
Additional information about the campaign is available at www.twdem.org.
Yen Chueh-an is a law professor at National Taiwan University
and convener of the Platform for the Defense of Taiwanese Democracy.
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