Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday called for a referendum on easing a food import ban from five Japanese prefectures to “stop the addle-brained government,” as the KMT caucus announced plans to launch a nationwide petition to exert further pressure on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration.
“On Tuesday, Japan’s Interchange Association Chairman Mitsuo Ohashi criticized Taiwan’s concerns about potentially radiation-contaminated Japanese food products as ‘unsubstantiated comments’ and called on President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) government to lift the import ban,” Hau said on Facebook.
The DPP’s attempts to “sacrifice public food safety in exchange for diplomatic relations” in the past six months have galvanized disputes and public unrest, Hau said, adding he regrets that the Tsai administration has chosen to act against public opinion.
Photo: CNA
Hau said that when a government is turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to people’s opposition and anger, the only remaining option is to resort to direct democracy and check and balance the DPP’s legislative majority via a referendum.
“Despite the high threshold for passing referendums, this is people’s last resort to stopping an addle-brained government,” he added.
Given that all six referendums held since the 2003 promulgation of the Referendum Act (公民投票法) were initiated by political parties and centered on political issues, a plebiscite on the import ban would be a true realization of giving people a direct say in public affairs, Hau said.
Hau’s office said the proposed referendum would not be initiated by the party, but rather through cooperation with civic groups.
According to the act, a referendum proposal requires signatures from no less than 0.5 percent of the total number of voters in the latest presidential election. After the proposal is reviewed, the second stage is to gather signatures from 5 percent of voters for a referendum to be set up.
A 50 percent turnout of eligible voters is also required for a referendum to be declared legitimate.
Hau made the remarks amid reports that the government is mulling lifting the ban it imposed on food products from Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Chiba prefectures in March 2011.
KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director Tang Te-ming (唐德明), in response to media inquiries about Hau’s plan, said that the party is campaigning nationwide with a signature drive, but a referendum is the public’s right, so it would be a good way to express public discontent.
Separately yesterday, the KMT caucus held a news conference at the legislature to announce its plan to initiate a nationwide petition on Sunday to deter the government from relaxing the import ban.
“We have repeatedly stressed the importance of food safety. The KMT caucus’ stance is to safeguard public health, given that our government has played dumb and acted against the people. We must resort to direct public opinion,” KMT caucus Secretary-General Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said.
Chiang welcomed efforts by civic groups proposing a referendum.
Additional Reporting by Shih Hsiao-kuang
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
RSS