A government-backed proposal to authorize a national referendum on the controversial Fourth Nuclear Power Plant remained stalled in the legislature yesterday after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers failed to clear opposition counterparts from the speaker’s podium so that they could open the session.
A series of brawls broke out among lawmakers, and the KMT was unable to recover the podium, which had been occupied by opposition lawmakers since 5pm on Thursday.
At the podium, lawmakers grappled with each other, exchanged punches and threw water and plastic bottles at each other.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
If the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) manages to keep control of the podium until Tuesday, which could be the last day a plenary session is held in the second extra legislative session that will run until Friday, KMT caucus whip Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) said the party would call a third extra session to vote on the proposal.
The proposal “must clear the legislature by the end of this month,” Lai said.
In response, DPP caucus whip Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) said: “We will hold on until Tuesday, even if there’s a third extra session, a fourth, or a fifth.”
Photo: CNA
The KMT has vowed to push through the proposal before the next formal legislative session, which begins next month, to prevent a plebiscite being delayed until next year, as a vote can take place no later than six months after the proposal gains legislative approval in accordance with the Referendum Act (公民投票法).
In a new session, votes on proposals can only take place after an interpellation session that would take six weeks to finish. This would mean that the referendum proposal would not be voted on until November at the earliest, if it is not passed by the end of this month.
Since the “seven-in-one” nationwide local election is slated for the end of next year, if the referendum is held close to the election, it could help boost voter turnout.
Photo: Sam Yeh / AFP
Low voter turnout in all six referendums in the nation’s history suggest that the chances of a valid referendum are slim, as it would require at least 50 percent of the electorate to vote. Therefore, the government would have legitimate justification to continue construction of the plant, despite serious safety concerns.
The way the question is phrased in the KMT proposal — “Do you agree that the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant should be halted and that it not become operational (你是否同意核四廠停止興建不得運轉)?” — means a failed referendum would be taken to show that people support continuation of the plant’s construction.
DPP Legislator Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said her party would never allow such a referendum, whose question was proposed in a “tricky way” to be held under the “bird-cage” Referendum Act, referring to the 50 percent threshold.
“Opposition to nuclear energy has been a core DPP value, as has implementation of referendums. The KMT proposal for a referendum is not genuine democracy. We will not retreat and will show the public that we are capable of defending our values,” she said.
The DPP would only agree to a referendum on the plant after the threshold of a 50 percent turnout is removed from the Referendum Act, Wu said.
KMT caucus whip Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) labeled the DPP a “party of violence” and said it was “a disgrace to the legislature.”
The proposal was not about supporting the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant or opposing it, but to give people the right to decide on the fate of the plant, Lin said.
“It has been an issue that has troubled the nation for 20 years. Now that it can’t be resolved in the legislature, what’s wrong with proposing a referendum?” Lin said.
The boycott was joined by Taiwan Solidarity Union and the People First Party lawmakers.
Legislative staffers found out yesterday morning that electric voting machines installed on the seats of KMT lawmakers were stuffed with shredded newspaper, presumably by opposition lawmakers who stayed overnight on the floor.
The two doors to the chamber through which Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) usually passes to preside over a plenary session remained locked by opposition lawmakers, with chairs piled up against the doors to block entry.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from