The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday accused the Central Election Commission (CEC) of stalling the review of a referendum proposal initiated by KMT Legislator Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) about phasing out coal-fired power plants.
The proposal from Lu, the KMT’s Taichung mayoral candidate, has been in limbo for 78 days, KMT caucus whip Lin Te-fu (林德福) said.
The commission could be conspiring to strike down Lu’s proposal by delaying its review for more than 30 days, the longest amount of time permitted for those leading a referendum drive to submit additional information to clarify the intent of their proposal and hold a hearing, Lin said.
This would prevent a referendum proposal from being seconded by the public, he said.
He accused the commission of applying a double standard, as referendums initiated by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers were approved faster than those initiated by KMT members.
A proposed referendum to solicit opinions on stepping up government efforts to enable the nation’s participation in the WHO, the International Criminal Police Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization passed a review in 14 days, Lin said.
Another one about creating a special police force tasked with protecting animals was approved within 15 days, he said.
A drive initiated by track and field Olympic medalist Chi Cheng (紀政) — who is “working with the DPP” — that asks people whether they support the national sports team adopting the name “Taiwan” instead of “Chinese Taipei” in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was passed in 47 days, he said.
However, a referendum proposal initiated by KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) that would ask whether the government should continue banning food products from Fukushima and four nearby Japanese prefectures that were affected by the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster has languished for 76 days, he said.
The commission said that it has not received Lu’s proposal back from the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), because EPA Deputy Minister Thomas Chan (詹順貴) has not signed off on it.
However, Lu also accused CEC members of asking her “ill-conceived” questions aimed at obstructing her proposal during a hearing, such as how she intended to phase out coal-fired power plants.
The commission should have asked the DPP administration that question instead, as the result of referendums should serve as references for policymaking, Lu said.
The commission later issued a statement saying that it handles all intiatives according to procedures.
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