Chen urged to change United Nations vote date

Huang raised the proposal during a meeting with Chen. According to Huang, Chen “promised that he will seriously consider the proposal.”

Based on TSU evaluation, Huang told reporters, there is a “high possibility of failure” of the referendum on whether to apply to join the U.N. under the name Taiwan if it is held alongside the “highly polarized” presidential election.

Huang claimed that as the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) is pushing for a separate referendum on returning to the U.N. under more flexible terms, it is likely both the KMT and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will ask their supporters to boycott each other’s referendums.

According to Huang, the country cannot afford a failure because the referendum is designed to show the world Taiwan’s desire to join the U.N.

But in the event of failing to mobilize more than 50 percent of eligible voters to back the referendum, the international community will have sufficient reason to oppose Taiwan’s bid for U.N. membership, he said.

Furthermore, he noted, according to the Referendum Law, no referendum on the same issue can be held within three years of a failed referendum on the same issue.

The first national referendum initiated by President Chen flopped when it was held simultaneously with the 2004 presidential election and contained two questions: whether the country should strengthen its anti-missile defense capability and whether to negotiate a peace framework with China?

It was ruled invalid after less than 50 percent of the eligible voters bothered to cast their votes on the referendum.

The turnout placed Chen and his administration in a conundrum, as they would have been disobeying the referendum results if they allocated any funds for military procurement in the government’s budget program.

On Wednesday, former President Lee Teng-hui, who helped found the TSU, said that the government should not tie the planned U.N. referendum to the 2008 presidential election.

Implying that the outgoing Chen is bound to leave office soon, Lee stressed the “old” president should let the “new” president handle the issue.

Commonly known as the “spiritual leader” of the TSU, Lee also said he will not take part in a planned march in southern Kaohsiung City slated for tomorrow, although the DPP had sent an invitation to him.

Chen’s DPP has been organizing the mass rally to drum up public support for the referendum proposal and the party’s candidates in the upcoming legislative and presidential election.

Aiming to attract between 300,000 and 500,000 people to the event, the DPP has set a quota requiring each of its elected officials mobilize at least 1,500 people to the rally.

Analysts generally cast doubt that Chen will consider the TSU proposal not to tie the referendum to the presidential election.

Lee’s admonition was rebuffed by DPP lawmakers.

They said Lee should not call Chen the “old” president

because only Lee himself is the “old” president, and that Lee is simply putting his mind on helping the TSU candidates to win more legislative seats in the upcoming election.

The TSU is a junior partner of the DPP and both advocate Taiwan independence, but both have been fighting each other for the reduced legislative seats since they share similar supporters.

In a neutral statement, DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh explained that President Chen has voluntarily shouldered the great responsibility to initiate the U.N. referendum although he has come under great pressure for his remaining months in the office.

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