直接民權是人民關於民主權利實踐的基本方式，除了選舉、罷免代理人民集體進行自我統治的公職人員之外，由人民直接行使的公民投票，對作為國家主權者的人民而言，是保證其國家最高意志得以受到確認的最終權力。臺灣現在實施之〈中華民國憲法〉，一方面深受19、20世紀之交歐美進步主義直接民權思潮的影響，特別規定對於人民選舉、罷免、創制、複決四種直接民權之保障，但另一方面，又受到第一次世界大戰後社會主義民主集中制憲政思潮的影響，建置以代議民主型式實現人民主權的國家最高權力機關－國民大會，將全國性公民投票權交由國大代替全國人民行使。2000年，第三屆國民大會進行第六次修憲，將國大改制為非常設性之任務型機關，釋出修憲與變更領土以外之全國性公投權，2005年任務型國大進行第七次修憲，再進一步凍結國大建制，將其剩餘之全國性公投權全部移交人民直接行使。然而，臺灣現行的〈公民投票法〉不僅不信任人民，更創造多項對抗與壓制人民的武器，且在〈公民投票法〉的實施方面，以中國國民黨為首的泛藍陣營總是強力杯葛，無異是將黨意凌駕於民意之上，將政黨政治凌駕於國民主權之上。如果人民要發動公民投票，首先要面對的便是掌有駁回公投提案權力的審議委員會。掌握生殺大權的公投審議委員會應該予以廢除。除此之外，人民實踐公民投票還有許多關卡，包括最近一屆總統、副總統選舉有投票權人數千分之五的提案人數，總統、副總統選舉有投票權人數百分之五的連署（約當需要七、八十萬人）才可成案，而投票結果則必須有投票權人數的二分之一以上投票，贊成票達相對多數始可過關，公民投票的實現實在困難重重。由上可知，臺灣人民雖然自〈憲法〉、〈公民投票法〉以至〈公民投票法〉授權之地方公投自治條例立法，已大致擁有完整的公投民主法制架構，但由於中華人民共和國和中國國民黨一外一內共同反對臺灣人民任何彰顯臺灣為主權獨立國家的政治行動可能性，乃在〈憲法增修條文〉和〈公民投票法〉中，對於修憲、立法或重大公共政策之公民投票設下種種制度性障礙，復以地方公投自治條例普遍呈現立法怠惰之現象，結果使得臺灣之公投民主窒礙難行而徒具形式而已。由於2005年第七次修憲將立法委員選舉改為單一選區兩票制後，大幅壓縮第三黨的生存發展空間，加以2012年1月總統與立法委員選舉同步舉行，國民黨單一政黨總攬行政權與立法權，社會力量更需要擁有完善的公民投票制度來督促反對黨、制衡執政黨。因此，本文乃基於人民主權和公投民主之價值，針砭我國公民投票制度現狀，分就超憲法、〈憲法〉、〈公民投票法〉、公民投票特別立法以及地方公民投票自治立法各個層面提出具體之改革主張，期待臺灣人民能因公投制度之落實，使得作為國家的主人，能真正自主決定自身的政治、經濟、社會與文化的發展，永保臺灣主權在民。

The direct civil right is regarding the most basic form that the democratic right can be enforced. In addition to to elect and impeach citizen's representatives as the public officials to self-govern, the referendum exercised directly by people serving as the basic units of national sovereignty is ultimate power that assures the supreme will of the national can be manifested.The Constitution of the Republic of China that is currently enforced is on one hand influenced by the 19th, 20th Century European thoughts of progressivism that stipulates assurance of four direct civil rights including people's rights of suffrage, recall, initiative and referendum; on the other hand, influenced by the stream of thoughts on the constitutionalism provoked by the socio-democratic centralism in post World War I period, the Constitution adopted the mode or agency-National Assembly to realized people's sovereignty and thereby making the right to initiate national referendum to be enforced to its delegates. In 2000, the third session of National Assembly launched the sixth amendment of the Constitution which changed the National Assembly into the non-permanent agency on provisional basis and return the right to referendum to people except for the right to make constitutional amendment and change of territory. In 2005, the Provisional National Assembly conducted the seventh constitutional amendment in which freeze up the functions of the Assembly and let all matters within the categories of national referendum to be exercised directly by the people.However current referendum act does not trust the people but creates several weapons against and suppressing their rights. In practice, the pan blue camp led by the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomingtang, KMT) always boycotts the enforcement of the act. This makes the will of the party override the will of the people and let the party politics surpersede the national sovereignty.If the people feel like to initiate the referendum, the first obstacle they meet is the Review Commission which owns the authority to dismiss the proposal. This Review Commission with overwhelming powers should be vacated. Besides, there still exist several conditions before the referendum to be exercised. For instance, for a proposal of referendum, the number of applicant shall be not less than 5% of the total electorate (about 700,000 to 800,000 people) in the latest election of President and Vice President and in order to pass the proposal of referendum, the number of voters has to reach not less than 1/2 of the total eligible voters and more than 1/2 of the valid ballots agree. To compare with the law-making and law-revising process of the Legislative Yuan which requires only proposal be submitted by parties and passed by relative majority vote, the exercise of referendum is much more difficult.As abovementioned, democratic and legal system concerning the exercise of referendum is rather sound by the authorization from the Constitution, the Referendum Act and local referendum regulations, yet since both oppositions from inside and outside by the cooperation of the People's Republic of China and the KMT against any political conduct that may possibly manifest Taiwan's independent sovereignty, there exists multiple legal obstacles for the exercise of referendum concerning matters including constitutional amendment, law-making, and the decision on major public policy. Therefore, the general phenomenon of legislative gridlock of the local referendum regulations leads the exercise of referendum to be hobbled and leave only nominal shell.After the method of legislative election has been changed into the single member district with proportional representation system by the seventh constitutional amendment made in 2005, third political party's surviving room is largely suppressed. Furthermore, with the combination of presidential election and legislative election in January 2012, the KMT generally monopolized both the administrative powers and the legislative powers. Therefore, the power of society needs to be equipped with a sound referendum mechanism to supervise and balance the power of the ruling party.Accordingly, the article based on the value of national sovereignty and the right to referendum, reviews the current legal system governing the exercise of referendum and provides concrete advices toward the reform of the current system from aspects of supra-constitution, the Constitution, the Referendum Act, special acts concerning referendum, and the law-making of the local referendum regulations. We expect that the people of Taiwan can be the master of the nation through the enforcement of referendum mechanism and can be making decisions with regard to the political economic, social, and cultural development oh theirown to make sure the sovereignty of Taiwan belong to the people.