Nuclear protesters demand a stop to referendum

By Ann Yu,The China Post
May 27, 2013, 12:03 am TWN

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Anti-nuke protesters circled the Legislative Yuan, yesterday, demanding the government immediately terminate the launch of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant and vote down a referendum bill concerning the facility. Activists said the government has continued construction of Nuke 4, as the plant is commonly known, despite the demands iterated during the 309 Anti-Nuke Protest, which expressed clearly the people's desire to terminate the plant.  They described the government-proposed referendum on the plant's fate as a ploy designed to confuse citizens. According to the Referendum Act, a referendum is effective only if it achieves a voter turnout of over 50 percent, which is unlikely in Taiwan. Activists complained that the referendum was a ploy by the Kuomintang, citing the nature of the referendum question, which can be translated as: “Do you agree that the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant should be halted and that the facility should not become operational?” As many protesters feared that the referendum bill was likely to pass in the legislature, anti-nuke activists circled the Legislative Yuan to express their demand that legislators vote down the bill. Protestors formed the letters “STOP,” in front of the building, screaming “Dangerous Nuke Power! Stop! Years of Nuke waste! Stop!” Asking lawmakers to look beyond their parochial political self-interest, activists urged lawmakers to hear the voices of the people and scrap the Nuke 4 immediately. Activists said that launching a referendum to decide the fate of Nuke 4 is a waste of money.” Earlier this year, Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) proposed holding a referendum on the fate of Nuke 4, stating that this would help end the more than 2-decade-old controversy surrounding the facility. He promised that the government would do everything possible to ensure the safety of the plant, initiating a string of safety inspection measures that include taking media personnel for a visit of the facility. http://chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2013/05/27/379659/Nuclear-protesters.htm Structure of the Lead：    WHO-anti-nuke protesters    WHEN- May 26/2013    WHAT-demanding the government    WHY-immediately terminate the launch of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant    WHERE-not given    HOW-not given