TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — DPP Legislator Chang Hung-lu (張宏陸) convened the first of two public meetings on whether to tie referendums to elections at the legislature on Thursday (Nov. 14). 

KMT Legislator Luo Chih-chiang (羅智強) proposed revisions to the Referendum Act that would require referendums to be held within six months of them being announced, per CNA. The revisions would also require referendums to be held the same day as national elections if there is one within six months of being announced. 

Taipei University Public Administration Department Professor Liu Chia-wei (劉嘉薇) advocated for tying referendums to general elections. Liu said this would lower costs and make the process more convenient for the public.

Liu noted the public rejected tying referendums to elections via a referendum in 2021. However, she said turnout for the vote was low and the result did not adequately represent public opinion.

Island Taiwan Law Offices Lawyer Wang Chan-shing (王展星) said that public votes represent public opinion no matter the turnout. He said that voting on issues and voting for representatives involved different electoral systems and tying the two votes together would cause vagaries that prevent detailed discussion.

Soochow University Law School Lecturer Chang Kun-sheng (張錕盛) said referendums should not be held at the same time as general elections even though doing so would increase participation. He said if the two were combined, issues would not be properly discussed and referendums would become a tool for candidates to get elected.

Soochow University Politics Department Professor Su Tzu-chiao (蘇子喬) said he has reservations about amending the law. Su said this is because the majority of democratic nations, most of which are stable and mature, do not hold referendums at the same time as elections.

Former political science professor at Soochow University Hsieh Cheng-yu (謝政諭) noted that Switzerland is an example of a democracy that does not hold the vote at the same time but said this is because of the many referendums held in the country.

The most recent referendums held in eight of the top nine countries on the Economist Democracy Index were not held in tandem with elections.

National Tsing Hua University Center for General Education Assistant Professor Ho Chih-yung (何志勇) said the Referendum Act should be restored to a previous version. He said this would allow referendums to be held at the same time as general elections if they occurred at the same time and for them to be held separately if they were not.

Central Election Commission Deputy Chair Chen Chao-chien (陳朝建) said having referendums and elections at different times allows proper communication and debate among the public. He said tying the two together would make the process extremely complicated and the current regulations should be kept in place.

Taiwan has held five referendums on 22 policy questions since the Referendum Act was passed in 2003. Of those, only the 2021 referendum was not held alongside elections.