【 】The amended Referendum Act was promulgated by President Ing-Wen Tsai (蔡英文) on January 3, 2018. The Central Election Commission (CEC) became the competent
authority in charge of referendum related matters. CEC Chairman In-Chin Chen (陳英鈐) signified that the amendments proclaim the government’s commitment to
enhance democracy in Taiwan and the CEC shall, as an independent body,
implement the new law in a fair, open, and transparent manner to ensure the
political participation of Taiwanese people.
The CEC highlighted that the amendment
included making the CEC the competent authority of national referendums,
lowering the minimum voting age to 18 years of age, and reducing the thresholds
for the three stages of a referendum (initiation, acquisition of joint
signatures, and adoption).
The CEC also pointed out that it is
actively carrying out follow up works such as drafting the enforcement rules of
the Referendum Act and the operating regulations of referendum presentations or
debates, revising related forms and documents, establishing an online platform
to enable citizens to propose referendums, and assisting the local governments to
amend or promulgate autonomous regulations.