Back in 2003 when amendments were being made to the Referendum Act, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supported a threshold of 50 percent of eligible voters for a referendum to be valid, hence they have no basis for denying the system they pushed for back then, Executive Yuan Spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun said today.
Records from the Legislative Yuan show that three versions of the amendments had been proposed in 2003: one jointly by the Kuomintang (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP), one by the Democratic Progressive Party, and another by the Executive Yuan under then-Premier Yu Shyi-kun. All three versions required a threshold of 50 percent of eligible voters, half of whom must vote in favor for the referendum to pass (see attached chart). This indicates that the ruling DPP administration and DPP legislative caucus at the time affirmed and supported what they now denounce as a "birdcage act" or "impossible referendum act."
Separately, Sun denied media reports that Premier Jiang Yi-huah is willing to lower the referendum threshold to 40 percent. The Executive Yuan maintains its position that any referendums should be carried out in accordance with the Referendum Act.