The Referendum Act Legislation: Opening the Pandora's Box of Populist Policy Manipulation

In late 2003, the Legislative Yuan passed the Referendum Act. While appearing to empower direct democracy, the DPP government was criticized for using the referendum as a political tool to bypass representative deliberation and incite social polarization over sensitive national identity issues. This began a trend where the DPP used referendums as "election catalysts" rather than genuine tools for public consensus.