When Taiwan passed legislation last year that made it easier to propose and pass referendum questions, President Tsai Ing-wen called it a “historic moment” in the self-ruling island’s evolution from a military dictatorship to an open democracy.
She got more than she bargained for on Saturday, when voters were asked a record 10 questions. Their answers simultaneously undermined Taiwan’s reputation as one of Asia’s most progressive societies, angered many young Taiwanese and inadvertently assisted Beijing’s claims that Taiwan is part of its territory.
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Kolas Yotaka, a government spokeswoman and former legislator who voted for the new referendum law last year, said the public had multiple complaints about the referendums on Saturday, including the large number of questions being asked.
“We think next time we’ll need to improve explanations of the content of the referendums,” Ms. Kolas said in an interview. “We also didn’t have enough time to have enough public debate.”
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The referendum questions on gay rights were the subject of a well-funded and highly organized campaign led by conservative Christians and other groups. The campaign was characterized by misinformation, the bulk of which was spread online, including messages warning of an AIDS epidemic and low birthrates, or that educating students about different sexual orientations would influence their sexual choices.
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Ms. Kolas said that despite the referendum results, the government was “very happy” to hear the voice of the electorate.
“What’s important is to give the people an opportunity to express their opinions,” she said.
The local press reports that some people are now getting excited that the hordes of Mainland tourists will come back and energize the economy. What short memories people have. Wasn’t too long ago when many were complaining about the Mainland tourist hordes, and we finally got our peace back so good riddance to them. And now the pendulum is swinging back.
Is democracy only the best form of government if you agree with the majority? @hansioux posted the detailed voter statistics, you can clearly see the conservative majority outside the cities.
It’s not really that hard to believe. Referendum on gay marriage would always be a bad idea. Even in Australia, around 40% of the voters were against it last year despite Australia being an extremely liberal, progressive country.
Not at all. Just if they exhibited better reasoning for voting the way they did. I am more concerned about them following populist leaders and empty speeches.
