The four referendums slated to take place on Dec. 18 are nothing new, Vice President Lai Ching-te (???) said Sunday, while urging voters to vot "no."
The outcome of the referendums could cause a crisis that would hurt Taiwan's future but not a political challenge to President Tsai Ing-wen (???) and Premier Su Tseng-chang (???), Lai said at a rally held in Pingtung. It was part of a national campaign launched by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Saturday, urging people to vote "no" on all the four referendum questions.
The four referendum proposals involve the revival of work on the mothballed Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei's Gongliao District; opposition to a plan for a liquefied natural gas receiving station in Datan Borough in Taoyuan's Guanyin District; a ban on pork products containing residue of the leanness drug ractopamine; and holding referendum votes and national elections on the same day.
Lai opposed restarting construction of the fourth nuclear plant, saying work on the plant started 22 years ago but the plant was officially mothballed in 2015 by then Kuomintang (KMT) President Ma Ying-jeou (???) amid rising public concern over the use of nuclear power.
That concern was prompted by the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan, which was triggered by a devastating tsunami following an earthquake.
Likening the nuclear plant to a tour bus, Lai said a bus more than 12 years old is too old to carry passengers, not to mention the 22-year-old nuclear facility.
Restarting work on the nuclear plant would be bad for Taiwan, Lai added.
Meanwhile, Lai said that voters should learn from the chaotic situation that arose when referendums and national elections were held on the same day in 2018, forcing polls to stay open past their official closing time.
Turning to the referendum on relocating a natural gas terminal to protect algal reefs off Guanyin, Lai said the DPP opposed the KMT-proposed LNG receiving station plan during the previous KMT administration because it covered an area of 232 hectares and could significantly undermine algal reefs.
However, after the DPP took office, the planned area for the LPG receiving station was trimmed to 10 percent of the size in the original plan, Lai added.
Lai also defended the government's policy of allowing pork imports containing ractopamine.
Taiwan is the United States' ninth largest trade partner, Lai said. If it fails to strengthen its ties with the country, it will be unable to sign a free trade agreement with the U.S. and gain support from the country to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership -- a major trans-Pacific trade bloc, which includes Canada, Japan, Mexico and Australia.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel