REFERENDUMS 2021/Political parties rally to boost turnout for referendums

Political parties in Taiwan held campaign rallies across the country Friday, seeking to drive a high voter turnout in Saturday's national referendum, with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) bringing its top heavyweights to the podium.

At the DPP's rallies in Taipei and Kaohsiung, President Tsai Ing-wen (???), Vice President Lai Ching-te (???) and Premier Su Tseng-chang (???) addressed the crowds, urging a vote against all four questions on the referendum ballots and saying Taiwan's economic future is at stake.

"The four proposals being put to the vote are actually about making one choice, choosing whether Taiwan should move forward or go backwards" Tsai said at the DPP event in Kaohsiung.

In their speeches, Tsai, Lai and Su all said it is important to vote "no" on the four proposals, so as not hinder Taiwan's trade with other countries and its efforts to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact.

Tsai, along with many other heavyweights from Taiwan's main political parties, has been on the campaign trail around Taiwan for weeks, ahead of Saturday's referendums, calling for people to turn out in their numbers to vote against the four proposals.

On Friday, three of the parties staged rallies in Taipei's Zhongzheng District, with the DPP campaigning on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office, and the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) rallying in front of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and outside the Legislative Yuan, respectively.

"For food safety, for democracy, for the next generation, and for Taiwan, please come out and vote 'yes' on Dec. 18," said the KMT politicians, including the party's Deputy Chairperson and Chiayi City Mayor Huang Ming-hui (???), who addressed the crowd via a recorded video.

KMT Chairman Eric Chu (???), who was in Taichung and Nantou for the party's campaign motorcades during the day, returned to Taipei for the evening rally.

All four referendum proposals were supported by the KMT, with lawmakers Johnny Chiang (???) and Lin Wei-chou (???) initiating two of them.

Chiang is advocating that national referendums be held in conjunction with general elections, as was done in the past.

The DPP amended the Referendum Act in 2019 to allow referendums only on the last Saturday of August in non-elections years -- odd numbered years.

The upcoming national referendum was scheduled for Aug. 28 but was postponed to Dec. 18 due to an outbreak of domestic COVID-19 cases earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Lin is pushing for the reinstatement of a ban on pork imports containing traces of the feed additive ractopamine through the referendum. The government lifted the ban at the beginning of the year but maintained its prohibition on the use of ractopamime in animal husbandry in Taiwan.

Addressing another issue on the referendum ballot, nuclear power advocate Huang Shih-hsiu (???) said at the KMT's rally in Taipei on Friday that a vote in favor of unsealing the mothballed Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei will help reduce air pollution in central and southern Taiwan, which is caused in part by coal-burning power plants.

The KMT's Taipei event was scheduled to be streamed on its Facebook page until 6:30 a.m. Saturday.

TPP, which supported two of the four referendum proposals, held campaign rallies in Taipei and Kaohsiung on Friday.

One of the proposals backed by the TPP was initiated by Pan Chong-cheng (???), convener of the Algae Reef Reservation Alliance that opposes to the ongoing construction of a liquefied natural gas terminal in Taoyuan, as the project could harm the coastal algae reef in the area.

The TPP also supports a ban on pork imports containing traces of ractopamine.

In Taipei, TPP chairman and the city's Mayor Ko Wen-je (???) criticized both the DPP and KMT, saying the two parties were using the referendums for political gain, when they should be about making the best choice for Taiwan's future.

"One party wants four 'yes' votes, and the other wants four 'no' votes," Ko said. "I don't think political parties should just chant slogans every day."

Meanwhile, New Power Party Chairperson and Legislator Chen Jiau-hua (???) campaigned in Taipei's Ximending shopping district, urging people to come out and vote Saturday. Her party supports three of the referendum initiatives and opposes the nuclear power plant proposal.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel