APDRC

March 20 Referendum

Taiwan’s “peace referendum” was held on the same day as the presidential election. Although certain topics were arred from being put to referendums by the Referendum Law, the Article 17 “defensive referendum” provision was included to protect national sovereignty. This provision allows the president to initiate a referendum on national security issues in the face of an external threat.

On January 16, 2004, President Chen announced his intention to hold the island’s first referendum, concerning the 500 Chinese missiles positioned towards Taiwan. The referendum was planned for the same day as the presidential election. The referendum immediately caught the attention and ire of China, who saw it as a step towards independence, and soon many countries were criticizing President Chen for holding the referendum, seemingly for political gain rather than any immediate sense of threat to national security.

Questions and results

The questions asked of Taiwan’s voters were as follows:

1.	The People of Taiwan demand that the Taiwan Strait issue be resolved through peaceful means. Should Mainland China refuse to withdraw the missiles it has targeted at Taiwan and to openly renounce the use of force against us, would you agree that the Government should acquire more advanced anti-missile weapons to strengthen Taiwan's self-defense capabilities?
2.	Would you agree that our Government should engage in negotiation with Mainland China on the establishment of a "peace and stability" framework for cross-strait interactions in order to build consensus and for the welfare of the peoples on both sides?

The referendum failed to pass the participation quorum (50% of eligible voters must cast ballots)
and thus was invalidated. An excellent summary of the results can be found at the International Foundation for Election Systems’ Taiwan referendum results site.

Future referendums

The Referendum Act passed in November 2003 leaves the door open to future referendums. President Chen, in interviews with the international media, has already stated his goal to have a new constitution completed by 2006, put to a referendum, and hopefully enacted by 2008. Although Chen does not view a new constitution as a change in the status quo (as he has oft-stated that Taiwan is already a sovereign, independent country), China does, raising serious concerns about cross-Strait stability among the Americans.