At least 5 million votes would be needed to pass Saturday's referendum on whether to extend the service life of the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County, the Central Election Commission (CEC) announced today.
The referendum question reads: "Do you agree that the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operation upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns?"
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
Under the Referendum Act (公民投票法), the vote will pass only if votes in favor account for more than one-fourth of the total eligible voters and outnumber the votes against.
Taiwanese citizens aged 18 or above who are not under guardianship and have lived in Taiwan for at least six months are eligible to participate in the referendum.
The number of citizens eligible to vote is 20,002,091, translating to a minimum threshold of 5,000,523 votes for passage, the CEC said.
The plant was shut down in mid-May, marking the start of a new era in which Taiwan has no operating nuclear power facilities.
While the move aligns with the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) policy of phasing out nuclear power and expanding green energy, the transition has raised questions over its effectiveness, resilience and cost-efficiency.
Among those supporting an extension of the plant's service are those who once backed the DPP's "nuclear-free homeland" policy, including Taiwan People's Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) and Pegatron Corp chairman Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), who was reportedly once approached by President William Lai to head his Cabinet.
The TPP proposed the referendum in the legislature in April, and the bill was passed in May with backing from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
The referendum is to be held alongside the second wave of recall votes against seven KMT lawmakers: one from New Taipei City, three from Taichung, one from Hsinchu County and two from Nantou County.
The upcoming recall votes follow a landslide failure late last month, in which civic groups and the DPP attempted to recall 24 KMT lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu mayor Kao Hung-an (高虹安), a former TPP member.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS