Debates held on U.N. referenda

She urged the CEC hold the referendums and the presidential election on separate days.

Meanwhile, President Chen Shui-bian said changes must be made to lower the criteria for the passing of referendums.

Currently for a referendum to pass, there must be a minimum turnout of 50 percent, and more than half of the ballots cast must be in favor of the issue.

Since the present referendum laws were adopted, all referendums that have been held have been declared invalid because of insufficient turnout.

DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh said he would agree to separating the referendums from the presidential election if the opposition camp agreed to lower the approval criteria.

Although the Legislature is scheduled to recess before the election, Hsieh said lawmakers would only need an hour or so to change the referendum law if they wanted to, as the KMT now controls three fourths of the legislative seats.

The CEC remarked that the referendums could still be rescheduled.

Independent Legislator May Chin-Kao urged voters to boycott both referendums, which she said have set the DPP and KMT fighting each other in a malicious power struggle.

Activist Wang Wen-lang said by boycotting the referendums voters can avert a possible crisis that may arise as a result.

The U.S., the EU and other countries have voiced their opposition to Taiwan holding referendums concerning its bid for U.N. membership.

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