Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) plans to file a provisional injunction over the government’s rejection of her proposed nuclear referendum in New Taipei City (新北市) in a bid to stop the fuel rods from being installed at the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in the city’s Gongliao District (貢寮).
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled at the Taipei High Administrative Court today over the lawsuit Lu has filed against the Executive Yuan for rejecting her referendum proposal, which had been previously approved by New Taipei City’s Referendum Review Committee.
Lu told a press conference yesterday that the Executive Yuan’s rejection has failed to respect the tens of thousands of people who signed the petition.
The former vice president, who is among the aspirants for the Democratic Progressive Party’s candidacy in the Taipei mayoral election in November, has made the anti-nuclear issue one of the main themes of her election campaign.
Citing former Japanese prime minister Morihimo Hosokawa, who ran an anti-nuclear campaign in the Tokyo gubernatorial election, as her inspiration, Lu said she would continue with her efforts, noting that the wishes of the millions of residents in the evacuation zone around the nuclear power plant should be respected.
Lu also accused Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) of flip-flopping on another referendum proposal Lu launched in Taipei, saying that Hau had shunned the responsibility for referring the proposal to the Ministry of the Interior, which subsequently determined that a nuclear referendum is a national issue that cannot be decided by a local referendum.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three