Taipei, Mar 17 (EFE).- Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang, announced a referendum Monday against the abolition of both the death penalty and martial law, which it said the government intends to establish by imposing measures to counter China’s influence on the island.
In statements reported by Taiwanese state news agency CNA, KMT Chairman Eric Chu said the purpose of holding these two referendums is for the population to “speak out and express their will,” opposing the “de facto abolition” of the death penalty and demanding that the executive branch not provoke “risks of war or the imposition of martial law.”
While Taiwan’s Constitutional Court upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty for the most serious cases in September, Chu criticized the requirement that courts issue “unanimous decisions” in these cases as having resulted in a “de facto abolition of the death penalty, which prevents justice from being done.”
On the second referendum, the opposition leader said labeling China a “hostile foreign force” based on “pro-independence positions,” referring to President William Lai’s speech on Mar. 13, could lead both sides of the Taiwan Strait to a situation of “quasi-war.”
During this same press conference, KMT lawmaker Lo Chih-chiang said the Taiwanese president’s 17 proposals to mitigate China’s influence and “infiltration” operations are similar to a state of quasi-martial law, which has generated fears of war among the island’s population.
“Pushing these two referendums is a collective effort to protect Taiwan and democracy, utilizing broader democratic mechanisms to ensure the safety of all citizens,” Chu said.
Following the announcement of these referendums, Ker Chien-ming, leader of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party parliamentary group, called the Kuomintang’s proposal to hold a referendum on martial law a “joke.”
He said President Lai himself opposed such a measure and that the Constitutional Court had already ruled on the constitutionality of the death penalty.
According to Taiwan’s Referendum Law, legislators have the power to call referendums on relevant political issues. If it goes ahead, the proposal could be reviewed as early as Apr. 21 in parliament, where the Kuomintang and the also opposition Taiwan People’s Party hold a majority of seats, CNA reported Friday.
The announcement of these two referendums is part of the broader political struggle between the Taiwanese government and opposition, which has used its majority to, among other things, cut the budget proposed by the government. EFE
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