The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration yesterday agreed to discuss what is perceived to be an unusually high threshold stipulated in the Referendum Act (公民投票法), which is crucial to the success or failure of a planned referendum to determine the fate of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
However, Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) and KMT Policy Committee chief Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) both consider the law’s thresholds “reasonable.”
Earlier yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) lawmakers blocked Jiang from delivering his policy address, scheduled for 10am, by occupying the podium during the first day of the new legislative session.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
They demanded that Jiang order a halt to the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant and that “no more money be wasted” on the project and a referendum.
The demands came after the Cabinet on Monday said it would pursue a referendum on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, a move widely regarded by the DPP, the TSU and anti-nuclear groups as a “trick” aimed at ensuring the nuclear power plant begins commercial operations in 2015 as planned.
On the premise that the referendum question would be phrased to ask people whether they support halting construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, about 9.15 million people, or half of eligible voters, would need to cast ballots for the poll to be valid, while about 4.57 million voters would have to vote “yes” for it to be passed.
In accordance with Article 33 of the Referendum Act, if the referendum fails, no proposal on the same issue can be raised within the following eight years.
Opposition politicians have denounced Jiang for his “politically motivated” referendum proposal, insisting that construction should be suspended and the Referendum Act should be amended if Jiang is serious about his initiative.
Almost all DPP and TSU members said that if a referendum is to be held, the question should be: “Do you support the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant?” rather than “Do you support suspending construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant?”
The reason behind that is simple: The referendum is not likely to pass given the high voting threshold, they said.
After day-long negotiations, the KMT caucus whips agreed to some requests raised by their DPP and TSU counterparts, and that enabled Jiang to deliver a condensed 12-minute policy address at 6:20pm.
Among the conclusions were that, before the referendum is held in August, the government would not request any more budget for the plant, not load fuel rods in the plant’s first reactor and halt all construction projects other than those that have been contracted out.
The government said the first reactor at the plant is 95 percent complete, while the second reactor is 92 percent complete and that most of the uncompleted projects have been contracted out.
The government agreed that the legislature designate experts to form a task force to oversee the construction of the plant.
KMT caucus whips and government officials also agreed to discuss amendments to the Referendum Act, but no timetable was set nor were possible revisions discussed.
Meanwhile, KMT Secretary-General Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) said that KMT party headquarters established a task force on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant three months ago to address related issues and the task force would serve as the negotiating team between the party and the government on nuclear safety and energy policy.
While both Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) of the KMT yesterday expressed support for a referendum, DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) reiterated that the DPP opposes the construction of and the allocation of additional budget to the power plant, adding that the government should not resort to a “trick” based on the Referendum Act.
A referendum has become the KMT’s tool to legitimize the construction of the plant, Su said, adding the KMT has always stood on the wrong side of the nation’s democratic development.
Su called on anti-nuclear advocates to “prepare themselves with determination to fight for a nuclear-free homeland.”
Former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) added that the Referendum Act is unfair and a violation of democratic principles because the act was “basically formulated for every referendum to fail.”
TSU Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) said that a proposed amendment of the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act (核子反應器設施管制法), which has been endorsed by lawmakers and is awaiting passage through the legislature, would be enough to deal with the issue.
The amendment proposes that the construction and operations of all nuclear reactors cannot be approved before a local referendum is held where the reactor is located.
Huang said the threshold for the referendum to pass should reference the Offshore Islands Development Act (離島建設條例) which adopts simple plurality.
Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) also accused Jiang and the Ma administration of political calculation behind the proposal.
Lu, who has been working on a local referendum in New Taipei City, denounced the idea of a national referendum, saying that New Taipei City is most qualified to hold a referendum on the issue because it has three nuclear power plants in its administrative zone.
Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
CHINA’s BULLYING: The former British prime minister said that he believes ‘Taiwan can and will’ protect its freedom and democracy, as its people are lovers of liberty Former British prime minister Boris Johnson yesterday said Western nations should have the courage to stand with and deepen their economic partnerships with Taiwan in the face of China’s intensified pressure. He made the remarks at the ninth Ketagalan Forum: 2025 Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prospect Foundation in Taipei. Johnson, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time, said he had seen Taiwan’s coastline on a screen on his indoor bicycle, but wanted to learn more about the nation, including its artificial intelligence (AI) development, the key technology of the 21st century. Calling himself an
RSS