Youth Groups Urge Legislature to Expedite Negotiations to Complete 18-Year-Old Voting Rights Amendment

(Central News Agency reporter Wang Yang-yu, Taipei, 13th) The Interior Committee of Taiwan's Legislative Yuan passed in preliminary review in May the amendment to lower the voting age to 18, referring the bill to party caucus negotiations. Several youth groups today stated that youth political participation rights should not be delayed, urging the Legislative Yuan to expedite negotiations, complete amendments to the Public Officials Election and Recall Act and the President and Vice President Election and Recall Act, and clearly stipulate an implementation date.

In May, the Legislative Yuan's Interior Committee passed preliminary review of amendments to the Public Officials Election and Recall Act and the President and Vice President Election and Recall Act, lowering the voting age from 20 to 18. However, due to the need for interpretation by the Constitutional Court, an attached resolution was passed, recommending that the Legislative Yuan's constitutional amendment committee simultaneously initiate constitutional reform efforts regarding 18-year-old voting rights. The bill has been referred to party caucus negotiations.

Today, youth organizations including Yang Tzu-ying, Chair of the Taiwan Youth Democracy Association; Chang Yu-meng, Chair of the Taiwan Youth Generation Mutual Benefit Association; Tsai Chi-yeh, Chair of EdYouth (One Drop of Education Association); and Taiwan Youth Thought held a press conference at the Legislative Yuan, urging political parties across the aisle not to delay youth political participation rights and to prioritize completing the legal amendments for 18-year-old voting rights.

Yang Tzu-ying emphasized that 18-year-old voting rights can be achieved through statutory amendments without waiting for constitutional reform. She urged Legislative Yuan President Han Kuo-yu to promptly convene party negotiations to enable the two election acts to swiftly pass their third reading, with a clearly defined implementation date included.

Chang Yu-meng stated that since the election law amendments have already passed preliminary review, negotiations should proceed quickly. She urged the Legislative Yuan not to 'fake the game' and expressed hope that the implementation date would be explicitly defined during the amendment process, rather than left to administrative agencies. Without a clearly defined implementation date, significant electoral disputes could arise in the future.

The participating youth groups jointly pointed out that 18-year-old voting rights can be achieved through statutory amendments, but constitutional reform discussions should also consider the possibility of ratification. Therefore, when discussing constitutional amendments, lowering the amendment threshold and including human rights clauses should be addressed, with human rights protection at the core.

Professor Hsu Wei-chun, Associate Professor at the Department of Financial Law, Chung Yuan Christian University, invited to the press conference, stated that the current threshold for constitutional amendment referendums is extremely high, making constitutional reform nearly impossible. If political parties recognize the need for constitutional change, they should simultaneously amend the amendment threshold to truly open the door to constitutional reform.

Article 130 of the Constitution of the Republic of China states that citizens aged 20 or older have the right to vote, and those aged 23 or older have the right to stand for election, unless otherwise specified by the Constitution or laws. Legislators from both ruling and opposition parties have proposed amendments to the Public Officials Election and Recall Act and the President and Vice President Election and Recall Act, lowering the voting age from 20 to 18. (Edited by Yang Kai-xiang) 1150713

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