TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Legislators in Taiwan rejected the Executive Yuan's (行政院) proposal to veto amendments to the "Public Officials Election and Recall Act" on Tuesday (Feb. 11), with 60 opposing the veto and 51 in favor, maintaining the original decision to dismiss the proposal.
After speeches by members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨), Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨), and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP, 民眾黨), the president of the Legislative Yuan Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) announced the outcome of the ballot count, which revealed 60 votes in favor of maintaining the original decision, marking the third time the Executive Yuan's proposal faced rejection.
TPP legislators Lin Yi-jun (林憶君) and Huang Shan-shan (黃珊珊) were absent due to overseas commitments, having filed for leave with their party and the legislature.
On Dec. 20 last year, the Legislative Yuan passed amendments requiring recall petitioners to submit hard copies of their identity cards. Violations are punishable by up to five years in prison or fines up to NT$1 million. The Executive Yuan, citing difficulties, sought a veto with presidential approval.
The DPP has voiced concerns about the amendment increasing barriers for voters to exercise the right of recall and potential abuse of personal data, while the KMT and TPP stand firm behind the notion of avoiding malicious recalls as they push for stricter checks of petitioners' authenticity.
