Seventy-one percent of Taipei residents will come out and vote if a national referendum on the fate of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant is held tomorrow, and 66 percent said they would vote in support of suspending construction of the plant, a survey released by the Taipei City Government yesterday showed.
The poll, conducted by Taipei City’s Research, Development and Evaluation Commission on Tuesday and Wednesday, was conducted against the backdrop of Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) open opposition to the construction of the plant.
A cross-over analysis of the survey found that of the 842 respondents who said they would participate in the referendum, 78 percent said they would vote to suspend construction. Of the 273 respondents who said they would not vote in the referendum, 40 percent said they support the plant’s suspension.
Hau, in announcing the poll’s results, said he does not oppose the Executive Yuan’s proposed referendum, but reiterated that public polls could be a faster and more effective way to resolve disputes and seek a consensus over the issue.
“I am concerned about the safe operation of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, and most people share my concern... I do not oppose the referendum, but it is not the only way to resolve disputes on a major policy,” he said.
He expressed concern about the vote turnout and said the Executive Yuan should step up efforts to provide vital information on nuclear power issues and encourage more people to vote, so that the result of the referendum would not be invalidated because of a voter turnout of less than 50 percent.
Taipei Deputy Mayor Timothy Ting (丁庭宇), a polling expert, said in a democratic society, the government would halt or make adjustments to a major policy if surveys found that most people opposed it.
He said the city would invite other cities and counties to conduct similar surveys, and Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) has also promised to conduct nationwide polls to gauge public opinion on the issue.
In response to President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) assurance on Wednesday that the government would use a referendum to determine the plant’s fate, Hau said he would continue to communicate with the Executive Yuan and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
“The KMT is not an authoritarian party, and I will continue to discuss my ideas with party members,” he said.
The survey polled 1,182 Taipei residents with a confidence level of 95 percent. Ting said the city would conduct such polls every month to gauge public opinion on the issue until the referendum is held.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TRAINING: The ministry said 87.5 percent of the apprehended Chinese agents were reported by service members they tried to lure into becoming spies Taiwanese organized crime, illegal money lenders, temples and civic groups are complicit in Beijing’s infiltration of the armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report yesterday. Retired service members who had been turned to Beijing’s cause mainly relied on those channels to infiltrate the Taiwanese military, according to the report to be submitted to lawmakers ahead of tomorrow’s hearing on Chinese espionage in the military. Chinese intelligence typically used blackmail, Internet-based communications, bribery or debts to loan sharks to leverage active service personnel to do its bidding, it said. China’s main goals are to collect intelligence, and develop a
RSS