Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday urged President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to hold an open dialogue with people petitioning for an anti-nuclear referendum to explain the government’s policy on nuclear energy.
“If more than 100,000 people signed the petition, Ma would be obligated to publicly explain his policy,” Lu, who had initiated an anti-nuclear referendum in New Taipei City (新北市), told a press conference.
Lu said her office has collected 32,769 signatures, considerably more than the minimum of 16,000 required to submit a referendum proposal, and would keep working on the second phase, which requires 160,000 signatures in six months for a referendum to be held.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The former vice president also defended a controversial initiative to combine the referendum with the local elections next year, saying that as the referendum is expected to be held in August next year, the timing would be only three to four months away from the local elections and it makes sense to combine the two to save money.
Lu said she did not rule out organizing a rally on May 20 on Ketagalan Boulevard and demanding an open dialogue with Ma on the nuclear issue.
DPP Legislator Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said that if the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) ignored the opinion of residents of Taipei, New Taipei City and Keelung — 63 percent of whom support stopping the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao (貢寮), according to a recent survey — KMT lawmakers representing these constituencies should be recalled.
.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
RSS