Activists want no referendum and no nuclear plant
By Lee I-chia
/ Staff reporter
During the first day of the new legislative session yesterday,
anti-nuclear power environmentalists again gathered in front of the Legislative
Yuan in Taipei, calling on legislators to stop the construction of the Fourth
Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市), and withdraw the referendum proposal on the plant.
Taiwan Environmental Protection Union founding chairman Shih Hsin-min (施信民) said the referendum proposal suggested by Chinese Nationalist Party
(KMT) Legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華) is aimed at exploiting the
“problematic” Referendum Act (公民投票法), ignoring public opinion and supporting the
Cabinet’s will of allowing the plant to go into operation.
Although Lee last week publicly announced that he wished to withdraw the
proposal, Shih said the proposal has already passed the first reading and is
scheduled for a second reading in this session, so even if Lee claims to want
to withdraw the proposal, he still has to go through procedures to make it
effective.
“Lee should finish going through the procedures as soon as possible. The
Legislative Yuan should acknowledge the public’s wish to bring a halt to the
Fourth Nuclear Power Plant project,” he said, urging the KMT caucus not to
block the proposal withdrawal.
The protesters said President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) approval rating had already dropped to 9.2 percent and if he does not
stop the construction project, it may even plunge lower.
Pan Han-shen (潘翰聲) of the Green Party Taiwan said, ahead of
next month’s National Day, that “we do not have anything to celebrate, because
we have so many nuclear power plants in the nation and Taiwan is the only
country that builds nuclear power plants right next to its capital.”
Pan said the public is invited to join in a “Fourth Nuclear Power Plant
termination” relay walk around the nation, ending at the Presidential Office on
Jan. 1.
Structure of the Lead:
who-anti-nuclear power environmentalists
when-During the first day of the new legislative session yesterday
what-calling on legislators to stop the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市), and withdraw the referendum proposal on the plant.
why-not given
where-in front of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei
how-gathered in front of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei
Keywords:
1.session 會議
2.referendum 公投
3.exploit 利用
4.problematic 有問題的
5.Cabinet 內閣
6.acknowledge 承認
7.halt 停止
8.caucus 黨團
9.termination 終止
10.relay 接力
We don't know if building the nuclear factory is good to Taiwan. Maybe it can manufacture more energe to use, but the government should use fair way to decide if the nuclear can be used in Taiwan.
回覆刪除I think it's bad of the government that they ignored citizens' opinions. And, I think the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant should not be built in Taiwan because there are too many nuclear plant in this small island.
回覆刪除I am not sure whether nuclear factory is necessary or not because we really need power. But government can not ignore any civics' voice. Hope the government could find its best way to balance the different opinion.
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