The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved two referendum proposals — one to reactivate a soon-to-be-decommissioned nuclear power plant and another to allow absentee voting — advancing both to a second reading in votes split along party lines.
The proposals, introduced by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and backed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), are heading directly to interparty negotiations without undergoing committee review.
The nuclear referendum would ask voters whether they support reactivating the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County, provided it passes all required safety inspections. Reactor No. 1 at the plant was decommissioned last year, while Reactor No. 2 is scheduled to shut down when its operating permit expires on May 17.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The second referendum would ask voters if they agree that the government should enable voting by absentee ballots within two years.
TPP lawmakers said that 70 percent of respondents in a poll conducted by the party supported the referendums.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸), who represents a district in Pingtung, said the proposed activation of decommissioned and soon-to-be decommissioned reactors is a danger to the lives and properties of the county’s residents.
Extending the operational span of reactors beyond their 40-year operating permits is a breach of the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act (核子反應器設施管制法), he said.
DPP Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said the TPP is bullying Pingtung residents by demanding the reactivation of an aging power plant in their jurisdiction, rather than proposing the reactivation of New Taipei City’s Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant or the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant.
DPP Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) said the TPP lied about the supposed popularity of the referendums.
The KMT-TPP alliance could easily have passed the two proposals as law with their majority in the legislature if they were truly confident in public support for these policies, he said.
DPP Legislator Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) said opposition lawmakers should take responsibility for the complex technical hurdles stemming from their polices at committee hearings, instead of passing their burdens to the public.
Also yesterday, KMT lawmakers passed a motion for the Legislative Yuan to consider extending its session to July 31, citing a need to respond to the ramifications of US tariffs.
An extended session would give the Cabinet time to propose economic stimulus measures and other initiatives to protect the nation’s export sector, workers and financial markets, KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) said.
However, DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said that extending the session could be a KMT ploy to undermine the government with wasteful projects or to help Chinese manufacturers disguise their products’ point of origin.
Citing examples, Wu said the KMT caucus leadership had recently floated policies such as distributing NT$10,000 (US$307) in cash to all citizens — a move that would add NT$230 billion to the national debt — and fast-tracking citizenship for Chinese immigrants.
If the KMT is truly concerned about public welfare, it should support the Executive Yuan’s forthcoming budget proposals and policy measures aimed at mitigating the impact of tariffs, Wu said.
The DPP did not oppose the KMT’s proposal to refer the relevant matter legislative committee for further discussion.
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