Jou Ying-lung: CEC to Prudently Handle Referendums Proposed by Legislative Yuan, Strict Review According to Law, Not a Blank Check
Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairman Jou Ying-lung stated that the CEC is not obligated to accept all referendum proposals from the Legislative Yuan and will prudently handle them according to the law, especially those concerning public policy and legal formulation. He emphasized that 'approval is the rule, non-approval is the exception' and also commented on the political rights of mainland spouses and absentee voting.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 27, 2026 at 13:24
- 🔍 Collected: April 27, 2026 at 13:31 (7 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 28, 2026 at 02:35 (13h 3m after Collected)
Taipei, April 27 (CNA) Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairman Jou Ying-lung said today that current laws do not explicitly mandate that the CEC must fully accept referendum proposals passed by the Legislative Yuan. He stated that the CEC will conduct necessary reviews in accordance with the law for future referendum proposals submitted by the Legislative Yuan, especially those targeting general public policies or legal formulations. He affirmed that the process will be extremely prudent, with 'approval as the principle and non-approval as the exception.'
Today, the CEC held a handover ceremony for its chairman, with the new chairman Jou Ying-lung officially taking office. In his address, he stated that whether the CEC has the power to reject referendum proposals put forth by the Legislative Yuan is currently a highly contentious and open question. How to properly handle this in the future and prevent the CEC from becoming a rubber stamp is a severe challenge.
After the meeting, Jou Ying-lung responded to media inquiries, saying that the CEC should appropriately handle referendum proposals from the Legislative Yuan, but how to handle them will ultimately be discussed in depth and decided by the CEC committee. He noted that he has seen media reports of opposition parties potentially proposing new referendum cases, and his initial feeling is that Taiwan values referendums and direct democracy so highly that he is generally optimistic about proposals from the people and political parties.
However, he said that the CEC is, after all, the competent authority for the Referendum Act, and it must rigorously review whether related issues comply with legal provisions. Currently, no referendum proposals have been passed by the Legislative Yuan, and the CEC will make the most appropriate arrangements for future developments.
When asked whether the power to approve or reject referendums proposed by the Legislative Yuan would still be retained, Jou Ying-lung stated that the CEC would be extremely cautious in handling such proposals. For two types of referendum proposals from the Legislative Yuan, the CEC can only comply: constitutional amendments and territorial changes as stipulated by the constitution.
Jou Ying-lung said that for general public policies or legal formulations, the CEC must exercise its role as an independent agency and conduct necessary reviews as authorized by law. Therefore, in May last year, the CEC conducted very in-depth, thorough, and extensive discussions on the Legislative Yuan's proposals for restarting the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant and opposing the abolition of the death penalty. One was passed and one was not, reflecting the CEC's highly responsible collective decision.
He stated that current laws do not explicitly mandate that the CEC must fully accept referendum proposals passed by the Legislative Yuan. However, because these are proposals passed by the Legislative Yuan, the CEC must be even more cautious, with 'approval as the principle and non-approval as the exception.' The decision of the CEC commissioners will be the final decision in the future.
Regarding whether the issue of political rights for mainland spouses will be handled more strictly, Jou Ying-lung said this involves two levels. Regulations under the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area stipulate that mainland spouses can acquire political rights after 10 years of residency. Taiwan currently has over 140,000 mainland spouses, and theoretically, as time progresses, more and more will gain political rights.
Jou Ying-lung stated that the incident involving former Taiwan People's Party legislator Lee Chen-hsiu provides insight into how to comprehensively, soundly, and reasonably resolve the issue of political rights for mainland spouses. 'We need to think positively,' he said, and relevant agencies should thoroughly or quickly clarify the calculation of mainland spouses' household registration period in Taiwan. Otherwise, with elections approaching at the end of this year, the CEC needs clear guidelines to review the eligibility requirements of candidates.
Regarding the implementation of absentee voting and tying referendums to general elections, he was asked if this would repeat the 'voting while counting' disaster of 2018. Jou Ying-lung said that was not just a disaster but a nightmare, but he believes it is unlikely for another case of 10 referendums to occur in the future, as all such events have their unique historical context.
As for absentee voting, he said it must be viewed from the perspective of historical development. More than a decade ago, some advocated for absentee voting, but at that time, it was a single election, which was relatively simple. Implementing absentee voting for the nine-in-one elections involves nearly 9,000 types of ballots, creating great difficulty. However, efforts should still be made to promote absentee voting, for example, by trying it out during a specific referendum. After accumulating enough experience, he highly anticipates that Taiwan will be able to implement absentee voting one day. (Edited by Hsieh Chia-chen) 1150427
Today, the CEC held a handover ceremony for its chairman, with the new chairman Jou Ying-lung officially taking office. In his address, he stated that whether the CEC has the power to reject referendum proposals put forth by the Legislative Yuan is currently a highly contentious and open question. How to properly handle this in the future and prevent the CEC from becoming a rubber stamp is a severe challenge.
After the meeting, Jou Ying-lung responded to media inquiries, saying that the CEC should appropriately handle referendum proposals from the Legislative Yuan, but how to handle them will ultimately be discussed in depth and decided by the CEC committee. He noted that he has seen media reports of opposition parties potentially proposing new referendum cases, and his initial feeling is that Taiwan values referendums and direct democracy so highly that he is generally optimistic about proposals from the people and political parties.
However, he said that the CEC is, after all, the competent authority for the Referendum Act, and it must rigorously review whether related issues comply with legal provisions. Currently, no referendum proposals have been passed by the Legislative Yuan, and the CEC will make the most appropriate arrangements for future developments.
When asked whether the power to approve or reject referendums proposed by the Legislative Yuan would still be retained, Jou Ying-lung stated that the CEC would be extremely cautious in handling such proposals. For two types of referendum proposals from the Legislative Yuan, the CEC can only comply: constitutional amendments and territorial changes as stipulated by the constitution.
Jou Ying-lung said that for general public policies or legal formulations, the CEC must exercise its role as an independent agency and conduct necessary reviews as authorized by law. Therefore, in May last year, the CEC conducted very in-depth, thorough, and extensive discussions on the Legislative Yuan's proposals for restarting the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant and opposing the abolition of the death penalty. One was passed and one was not, reflecting the CEC's highly responsible collective decision.
He stated that current laws do not explicitly mandate that the CEC must fully accept referendum proposals passed by the Legislative Yuan. However, because these are proposals passed by the Legislative Yuan, the CEC must be even more cautious, with 'approval as the principle and non-approval as the exception.' The decision of the CEC commissioners will be the final decision in the future.
Regarding whether the issue of political rights for mainland spouses will be handled more strictly, Jou Ying-lung said this involves two levels. Regulations under the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area stipulate that mainland spouses can acquire political rights after 10 years of residency. Taiwan currently has over 140,000 mainland spouses, and theoretically, as time progresses, more and more will gain political rights.
Jou Ying-lung stated that the incident involving former Taiwan People's Party legislator Lee Chen-hsiu provides insight into how to comprehensively, soundly, and reasonably resolve the issue of political rights for mainland spouses. 'We need to think positively,' he said, and relevant agencies should thoroughly or quickly clarify the calculation of mainland spouses' household registration period in Taiwan. Otherwise, with elections approaching at the end of this year, the CEC needs clear guidelines to review the eligibility requirements of candidates.
Regarding the implementation of absentee voting and tying referendums to general elections, he was asked if this would repeat the 'voting while counting' disaster of 2018. Jou Ying-lung said that was not just a disaster but a nightmare, but he believes it is unlikely for another case of 10 referendums to occur in the future, as all such events have their unique historical context.
As for absentee voting, he said it must be viewed from the perspective of historical development. More than a decade ago, some advocated for absentee voting, but at that time, it was a single election, which was relatively simple. Implementing absentee voting for the nine-in-one elections involves nearly 9,000 types of ballots, creating great difficulty. However, efforts should still be made to promote absentee voting, for example, by trying it out during a specific referendum. After accumulating enough experience, he highly anticipates that Taiwan will be able to implement absentee voting one day. (Edited by Hsieh Chia-chen) 1150427