Taiwanese transitional justice referendum, 2008

Nationwide referendum proposal 3
你是否同意依下列原則制定「政黨不當取得財產處理條例」，將中國國民黨黨產還給全民：國民黨及其附隨組織的財產，除黨費、政治獻金及競選補助金外，均推定為不當取得的財產，應還給人民。已處分者，應償還價額。 (See below for translation)
Location	Taiwan
Date	January 12, 2008 (2008-01-12)
Results Votes % Yes 3,891,170 7001914600000099999♠91.46% No 363,494 7000853999999999999♠8.54% Valid votes 4,254,664 7001934900000000000♠93.49% Invalid or blank votes 296,217 7000651000000000000♠6.51% Total votes 4,550,881 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 17,277,720 7001263400000000000♠26.34%
Website: Central Election Commission (in Chinese)

Nationwide referendum proposal 4
您是否同意制定法律追究國家領導人及其部屬，因故意或重大過失之措施，造成國家嚴重損害之責任，並由立法院設立調查委員會調查，政府各部門應全力配合，不得抗拒，以維全民利益，並懲處違法失職人員，追償不當所得？ (See below for translation)
Location	Taiwan
Date	January 12, 2008 (2008-01-12)
Results Votes % Yes 2,304,136 7001581700000000000♠58.17% No 1,656,890 7001418300000000000♠41.83% Valid votes 3,961,026 7001879100000000000♠87.91% Invalid or blank votes 544,901 7001120900000000000♠12.09% Total votes 4,505,927 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 17,277,720 7001260800000099999♠26.08%
Website: Central Election Commission (in Chinese)

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Two referendums took place in Taiwan on 12 January 2008, alongside simultaneous legislative elections. One (officially numbered as Question 3) is on transitional justice and the treatment of contentious properties acquired by the Kuomintang,^[1] and a counter-referendum (Question 4) initiated by the Kuomintang on alleged corruption in politics.^[2]

This referendum was considered to be a dress rehearsal for a more contentious referendum on support for Taiwan admission to the United Nations to be held in March.

To be effective a referendum under Taiwanese law must have over 50% of all voters voting. In this situation, the Kuomintang urged voters to boycott both referendums to prevent them from reaching the threshold needed to for adoption, and there was much pre-election controversy over the format and structure of the balloting. Initially, the Kuomintang was in favor of a two-step balloting system where voters would vote for the legislative elections and then for the referendum while the DPP was in favor of a one-step system in which voters would get all four ballots to vote. The final system was a one-step, two-table system in which voters would get the ballots at separate tables but would vote in one step.

The Central Election Commission of Taiwan declared the failure of both referendums due to low turnout, as less than 50% of eligible voters chose to cast a vote for either question. The legislative election held at the same time had a turn-out rate of around 58%.

Questions and results

Both results were rendered void since turnout were below the minimum requirement of 50% of registered voters. Note that English translations shown are not official.

Proposal 3

This question is officially championed by former premier Yu Shyi-kun.

Proposal 4

This question is officially championed by former finance minister Wang Chien-shien.

References

External links

• Ballot specimens from the Central Election Commission
• Official bulletin on the referendums and the legislative election
• Results of the two referendum questions from the Central Election Commission
• Government Information Office explanation on the referendum