People's Party's road toll vote plan rejected; Huang Guochang condemns and vows action.

The Taiwan People's Party (TPP) legislative caucus's referendum proposal aiming to dedicate traffic fines exclusively to road safety improvements has been officially rejected by the Central Election Commission (CEC) committee. In response, TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang immediately issued a strong reaction, publicly criticizing the CEC's decision as tantamount to a substantive deprivation of the people's constitutional right to exercise referendums, which he described as extremely infuriating. Huang emphasized that the caucus will not easily give up in the face of the competent authority's rejection. Moving forward, they will pursue all possible legal and administrative remedies while continuously and firmly promoting related traffic reform bills within the Legislative Yuan through legislative amendments and oversight mechanisms.

The core demand of this controversial referendum proposal is to reform the current allocation and utilization of traffic fines. The TPP caucus originally argued that the massive fine revenue collected by the government for traffic violations should not be entirely incorporated into the general national treasury or pooled for general local government use. Instead, a dedicated fund mechanism should be established. Through the injection of this specific funding, resources would be comprehensively and exclusively used to improve Taiwan's long-criticized road safety facilities, including sidewalk widening, pedestrian crossing optimization, dangerous intersection remodeling, and the enhancement of technology-based law enforcement equipment. Supporters believe that only by establishing financial incentives dedicated to specific uses can local and central governments obtain substantial and abundant resources to thoroughly shake off the infamous reputation of being a "pedestrian hell" and protect the lives and property of all road users.

However, after review, the CEC determined that the proposal did not comply with relevant referendum regulations and thus rejected it. This outcome immediately triggered high dissatisfaction and political sparring from the opposition party. Regarding the CEC's rejection, Huang expressed strong condemnation and discontent. He pointed out that referendums are a concrete manifestation of direct civil rights and an important tool to correct the shortcomings of current representative democracy. Traffic safety concerns the daily life of every citizen in Taiwan, and dedicating fines to road safety improvements is also the shared expectation of the grassroots public. Yet, the CEC used administrative procedures or regulatory restrictions as an excuse to bar a major proposal concerning public interest, an approach that is no different from depriving the people of their right to participate in the discussion and decision-making of national policies and does nothing to advance the deepening of Taiwan's democracy.

Faced with the political reality of the referendum proposal being vetoed by the CEC, the TPP caucus has already begun formulating specific follow-up countermeasures. Huang explicitly stated that the caucus is actively studying relevant laws and regulations, preparing to seek all legal remedies, and does not rule out fighting for the resurrection of the referendum through administrative litigation or other legal avenues. At the same time, he emphasized that even though the direct democratic path of the referendum is temporarily blocked, the TPP's oversight and legislative steps in the parliament will not halt because of this. In the future, the caucus will fully shift and concentrate the battlefield in the Legislative Yuan, continuing to pressure the ruling party through parliamentary powers such as proposing legislative amendments, interpellating administrative departments, and reviewing budgets, demanding that the government face the rationality of using traffic fines and the urgency of road safety improvements.

The incident involving the rejection of the traffic fine referendum not only highlights the divergence between administrative agencies and the opposition party over the definition of direct civil rights, but also once again pushes Taiwan's long-standing traffic safety reform issue to the forefront of public opinion. As the "pedestrian hell" issue continues to receive high social attention, the flow of fine funds and the effectiveness of road safety construction have consistently served as important indicators for the public to evaluate government performance satisfaction. Although the TPP hit a snag on the road to a referendum, through high-decibel verbal attacks and subsequent parliamentary actions, it has successfully maintained the heat of the issue. These related controversies are expected to continue burning in the new legislative session, becoming another major focal point of confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties.