The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said it has collected more than 320,000 signatures backing its petition to hold a national referendum on the importation of pork containing the animal feed additive ractopamine.
The KMT is holding a signature drive to push for a public referendum on imported pork with racotpamine residue, and another referendum on when referendums should take place.
The first proposal, officially headed by KMT Legislator Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) and variously referred to by the party as the “anti-ractopamine pork” or “food safety” referendum, would ask voters if they agree that the government should impose a complete ban on the importation of meat, offal and related products from pigs fed with ractopamine.
Photo: Lin Liang-sheng, Taipei Times
The second referendum proposal, of which KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) is the lead proposer, would ask voters if they agree that referendums should be held on the same day as a nationwide election if the election is scheduled to take place within six months of a proposal to hold a referendum being approved.
According to law, referendums from this year onward can be scheduled once every two years on the fourth Saturday of August, making Aug. 28 the next possible date.
As of yesterday, petitions for both referendum questions have surpassed the number of signatures that are legally required for the proposals to advance, Chiang told a weekly KMT Central Standing Committee meeting in Taipei.
More than 319,000 signatories have backed the party’s call for a vote on whether future referendums should be tied to general elections, while its petition for a “food safety” referendum has received more than 320,000 signatures, he said.
Under the Referendum Act (公民投票法), the KMT must submit valid signatures from no less than 1.5 percent of the total electorate in the most recent presidential election — or nearly 290,000 people — for its proposed questions to be put to vote.
Central Election Commission data showed that 19,311,105 people were eligible to vote in the presidential election on Jan. 11 last year.
Chiang said that to prevent duplicate and other invalid signatures, as well as possible “manipulation” by the Democratic Progressive Party, from harming its efforts, the KMT is to continue its signature drive.
Its goal is to collect 500,000 signatures for each proposal before the Lunar New Year, he added.
The Lunar New Year falls on Feb. 12 this year.
Each box of petition signatures represents people’s “strong backlash” against the government’s decision to allow imports of US pork containing ractopamine, as well as people’s expectations for the KMT, Chiang said.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS