China cannot control absentee voting on outlying islands: minister
ROC Central News Agency
2013/04/24 17:33:02
Taipei, April 24 (CNA) There should be no concerns about Chinese influence when absentee voting is introduced on the outlying islands of Kinmen and Matsu, Interior Minister Lee Hong-yuan said Wednesday.
Addressing opposition Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers' concerns that China will be able to monitor or control voting on Kinmen and Matsu, Lee said that the concerns are unfounded as both of the islands, located off the coast of China's Fujian Province, are Taiwan-controlled territories.
He also noted that details about the introduction of the absentee voting system fall under the purview of the Central Election Commission.
In 2010, the Ministry of the Interior considered introducing absentee voting for the 2012 presidential election, but the plan was scratched.
The absentee voting issue resurfaced after Premier Jiang Yi-huah announced in late February a government plan to hold a referendum to decide the fate of the fourth nuclear power plant, which is still under construction.
No date has been set for the proposed referendum about the nuclear power plant.
(By Wang Ching-yi and Kay Liu)
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