2021-12-18T00:00:00Z → 2021-12-18T08:00:00Z
- Protection of a coastal algal reef
- Pork imports containing traces of the leanness-enhancing drug ractopamine
- Referendum scheduling
- Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei
Edit: Postponed to December 18
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Tbh I hope this covid thing lasts till then if only to fuck with these stupid referenda.
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These referendums are just a waste of time and money. Didn’t someone say we shouldn’t go out and gather? Yeah sure. 
Better a waste of money to give people a voice rather than ANOTHER repaved road that was just redone last year…
What about our fucking water issue?
Taiwan has too much money and too little brains. Seriously. Karma gunna suck when it comes callin.
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Taiwan referendums in 2021 could be postponed due to COVID. A discussion will be held for the issue in early July.
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For any forumosans interested in the four referendum questions and the debates surrounding them: Nathan Batto at Frozen Garlic has been doing characteristically awesome work following some of the ins-and-outs of the debates and the attempts to persuade voters. His latest post appears here:
Guy
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US government should threaten to ruin KMT members for their referendum campaigns.
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They’ve already been unhappy with the blue side since Ma’s (attempted) hard turn to China. They obviously found working with Chen to be a headache (said one thing, did another). With Tsai they finally found someone with whom they can work.
Guy
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I am reading the referendum material send to us right now. Find it surprising that, at least for the first one, about the nuclear power plant 4, they clearly try to convince the voters to vote for Yes. Who wrote this, the nuclear power lobby? Shouldn’t the information be as neutral as possible?
I should read it. Wife’s complaint was that it didn’t outline the steps they would take if the various options were voted for or against.
l think they should just list the main pros and cons and then tell people to educate themselves further by going to relevant sources of information on both sides of the argument instead of clearly taking on side.
l just realized 理由書 is the Pro argument, now I am reading the government response.
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There are heaps of problems with the referendum system.
Do you remember the crazy double negatives used in 2018? It bewildered voters (held concurrently with the 2018 mayoral elections), contributing to massive delays on that day, and leading to the current system (separating referendum votes from major elections—itself one of the current referendum questions!).
Guy
In general, l find referendums about complex matters problematic. l think only very involved experts are in a position to decide about things like nuclear power or Brexit, etc. How many voters will even take time to read the material send to them?
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The initiator of the referendum seeking to restart Nuclear Power Plant #4 appeared in each of the recent televised debates over this issue. When he was asked “Where does the waste go?” (a fundamental problem in Taiwan, with no solution in sight), he retorted: “You can put it in my home!”
Guy
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I read some of it , it gives folks a chance to understand the issues a bit better anyway. Hopefully datan gets blocked…I met the teacher who initiated the petition for the referendum…Campaigning every weekend to get the Signatures …Legend.
The referendum material disappointingly seems to avoid Taiwan’s carbon emissions problems.
That problem—longstanding, and longterm—cannot be solved through a straight “yes” / “no” referendum question. It is tied, as you know, to energy policy, transportation policy, and industrial policy.
The liquid natural gas plant at Datan has been presented by the government as a necessary bridge between dirty coal and alternative energies currently being ramped up.
There are no clear right or wrong answers here, but it’s obvious to me that greater reduction of energy use needs to be incentivized (including providing $$$) than it is now. Otherwise we’ll keep cooking the planet and screwing us all.
Guy
For someone who complains about air quality all the time, that’s a very weird position to have.
What carbon emissions problem? For a small and dense country like Taiwan high carbon emissions are perfectly justified. Even if Taiwan reduces emissions to zero it wouldn’t change anything. It’s large countries’ problem.
Just tell her to vote against all of them.
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I think there are clearly two yes and two no if I understand the questions.
Ban ractopamine pork? No
Stop the LNG port project? No
Mandate referendums be held on national election days? Yes
Restart the 4th plant? Yes