HEAVY ISSUES: President Tsai Ing-wen called on voters to consider the referendums carefully ‘to make the best choice for Taiwan,’ as the votes would impact the nationBy Jason Pan / Staff reporter
December’s referendums are a vote on livelihood issues, not a squabble between political parties, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday.
The KMT-endorsed propositions are to ban imports of pork containing the leanness-enhancing additive ractopamine and to hold referendums alongside national elections, Chu said at a lecture hosted by the KMT-affiliated Institute of Revolutionary Practice in Yunlin.
The KMT believes the propositions will protect public health and ensure that the rights of all Taiwanese are respected, he said.
The other two referendums on relocating a natural gas terminal to protect algal reefs off Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) and activating the
The public must be confused about the issue of whether it is appropriate to restart construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮).
The site has been sealed up for a long time, and the fuel rods have been shipped overseas. So why is a referendum needed on whether to restart construction of the mothballed plant?
The truth is that the plant has become something of a political ATM. If a political party wants to make it an issue for its own political benefit, it resurrects the debate.
However, not only is restarting construction of the
Safeguarding democratic values is the agenda of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the party said in a video released yesterday to bolster its campaign ahead of referendums in December.
Among the themes of the six-minute video was enhanced ties with the US, Taiwan’s economic growth, despite a global slowdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic, increased subsidies for families and plans to attract international investments to allow “Taiwan to become a leading center of green energy in the Asia-Pacific region.”
The video said that “the DPP is determined to safeguard democratic values” and guide the nation as it makes steady progress day by day.
DPP
Support for the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) has overtaken that for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), according to a Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation poll released on Tuesday.
The poll found that KMT support stood at 16.2 percent, compared with 17.6 percent for the TPP, impressive for a party only launched in August 2019.
KMT support has hovered at about 20 percent for the past five years and, according to a previous poll conducted by the foundation, it stood at 18.9 percent, the lowest since June 2016, in July this year, when the TPP was already nipping at its heels with 15.6 percent.
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