Taiwan Church News
3403 Edition
15 – 21 May, 2017
Topical News Lin Yi-hsiung Joins Hunger Strike Protest For DPP’s Delay Of Referendum Act Amendment Reported by Lin Yi-ying Protesting President Tsai Ing-wen’s delay to amend the notorious Referendum Act, a 24-hour-relay of hunger strike, was staged in front of the headquarter of Democratic Progressive Party(DPP) from April 26 to May 11. This hunger strike event was organized by People Rule Foundation founded by Mr Lin Yi-hsiung, former DPP chairman and a highly respected and influential political leader in Taiwan society. On May 11, Mr Lin Yi-hsiung joined hunger strike. Following the Israelites circling around Jericho city, the famous story recorded in the book of Joshua of Old Testament, the assembly of hunger strikers also marched around DPP headquarter three times. After reading a statement, entitled as “Do democracy in action, amend Referendum Act immediately”, by Mr Chang Ren-yang, deputy chief executive officer of PCT’s Peace Foundation, the 24-hour-relay hunger strike was announced to an end. Accompanied by his co-workers, Mr Lin left the site. The statement read, due to a virulent high-threshold and restrictive legal design, for example, imposing a super high threshold requirement of the population number in petition, signature and turn out respectively on referendum act, Taiwan society had never passed a significant proposal since the approval of Referendum Act in 2003. Since DPP had won a landslide victory in the Presidential Office and the congress in 2016, there should be no excuse to delay an amendment of this notorious Referendum Act, remarked by People Rule Foundation. President Tsai Ing-wen, also the chairwoman of DPP, responded to this issue in DPP’s Central Committee on May 10 that DPP caucus in the congress should complete amendment of Referendum Act within this assembly term, i.e. before end of May, otherwise it should be amended before the end of this year to comply with the expectation of the people. Translated by Peter Wolfe |