Proposal on banning Chinese flag in public passes threshold: NDC

Taipei, Oct. 26 (CNA) The National Development Council (NDC) said Thursday that it has asked relevant government agencies to help respond to some of the policy suggestions submitted on its public participation platform, one of which is a proposed ban on displaying China's national flag in public spaces in Taiwan.

The council has most recently received three petitions on its Public Policy Network Participation Platform, NDC official Pan Kuo-tsai (潘國才) said.

According to the council, the online service platform was established to allow the public to make policy proposals. However, a proposal must obtain a minimum of 5,000 supporters within 60 days of its submission to receive a response from the government.

The three petitions, all of which have already passed the 5,000-supporter threshold, include a ban on the Chinese national flag, a change to Taiwan's time zone, and a call for private corporations to set up day care facilities.

The issue of banning the Chinese flag has been passed on to the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), Pan said, and a response date has yet to be determined.

With regard to a change in Taiwan's time zone, the NDC official said the Ministry of the Interior would be the principal agency to address the issue, with input from the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC).

Initially set up in 2015, the public policy platform has so far garnered 2,233 online proposals, of which 89 proposals have been acted on, representing a success rate of 7.1 percent.