If Switzerland can do it, Taiwan can do it too.
Switzerland is comparable to Taiwan in terms of area, topography and natural resources. It has a long-established system of using referendums to decide important issues. The system was not hard to set up and it operates with no problem at all. Taiwan is a civilized place, so there is no reason why what has worked for Switzerland should not work here.
If people think the kind of democracy that prevails in Switzerland is an attractive idea, then it is time to think about adopting Swiss-style direct democracy.
The protests launched by the Citizen 1985 alliance on Saturday to coincide with Double Ten National Day are worthy of applause. The “birdcage” referendum system should be dismantled so that Swiss-style direct democracy can spread its wings.
Juang Wei-torng is an associate research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Economics.
Translated by Julian Clegg