Taipei, 30 Oct (Xinhua) -- The haze of the epidemic situation on the island has not yet dissipated, and Taiwan's political arena has once again begun to thunder. On December 18, the Taiwan region will vote on four "referendums" such as "restarting the fourth nuclear power plant", "anti-Lai pig imports", "referendum tied to the general election" and "cherishing the algae reef". As the date approaches, the issue of the "four major referendums" continues to explode this week, becoming a new hot spot for political parties on the island to attack and defend and social public opinion.
What is the "Four Referendums"?
The "Restart Nuclear Fourth" case was led by Huang Shixiu, founder of the "Nuclear Energy Rumor Terminator", on the grounds that the "referendum" of "raising green with nuclear weapons" was passed in 2018, and the DPP authorities' "non-nuclear homeland" policy has been rejected by the majority of public opinion, but it is still obstinate, deceiving the public on the grounds that nuclear waste cannot be processed and the restart of the fourth nuclear power plant has taken a long time, and refusing to implement the "referendum" public opinion.
The "anti-Lai pig import" case was proposed by Lin Weizhou, a "legislator" of the Chinese Kuomintang, on the grounds that the DPP authorities announced that they would open up the import of ractopamine-containing U.S. pork from New Year's Day in 2021, and the decision-making process deliberately evaded supervision, which was like a "black box"; people's health could not become a bargaining chip for interests.
The "referendum tied to the general election" case was proposed by Jiang Qichen, a "legislator" of the Chinese Kuomintang, on the grounds that it could increase the voter turnout rate and reduce administrative costs; it was originally an important proposition of the DPP, and the DPP should not forget its original intention.
The "Cherish algae reef" case was proposed by environmentalist Pan Zhongzheng on whether to agree to the relocation of the third natural gas receiving station of "CNPC" from the coast and sea area of Tai Tan Alga Reef in Taoyuan. In March 2020, the receiving station engineering ship broke the cable and ran aground, and the ecological suspicion of the algae reef was damaged, which caused social concern. Environmental groups and the public launched a "referendum" in December of the same year.
The latest poll by the Green Camp "Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation" shows that in the case of "if you vote tomorrow", the three cases of "anti-Lai pig import", "cherished algae reef" and "referendum tied to the general election" all showed an overwhelming advantage, with the proportion of tendentious consent being 68.1%, 47.7%, and 57.4%, and the tendency to disagree was 25.7%, 29.6%, and 34.2%, respectively; the "restart of nuclear four" case was also inclined to lead the approval vote, reaching 46.7%, while the proportion of the tendency to disagree 6 months ago was higher than the consent.
The "four referendums" triggered a political storm
The day after the above-mentioned polls were announced, Taiwan authorities leader Tsai Ing-wen directly criticized "the KMT's operation of the 'referendum' as a tool for the party to fight against differences" and put forward the action plan of "four disagreements, Taiwan is more powerful," including holding more than 100 "referendum" briefing meetings, and demanding that all party officials fully defend the "four disagreements."
Why did the "four referendums" make the DPP so alert? Taiwan media said that they had broken the "mystery": Chen Baiwei, a "legislator" of Taiwan's Radical Progressive Party, was still deposed on 23 July with the strong support of the DPP, and the issue of the "four major referendums" pointing to the issue of the ruling party immediately exploded, and the DPP authorities will face a crisis of trust. According to reports, after chen Baiwei's recall case was passed, the DPP held an emergency meeting and decided to respond to the battle in an all-round way in advance and carry out all-out political mobilization.
You Yinglong, chairman of the "Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation," believes that if the DPP's "four major referendums" fail miserably, from Su Zhenchang, head of Taiwan's administrative organs, to Tsai Ing-wen, and the DPP authorities will suffer a serious blow to the "trinity." The supporters of the four "referendums" in the polls are quite cross-party, on the one hand, because young, highly educated, and cross-party supporters choose to stand against the DPP.
The "four major referendums" are about to come, how will public opinion on the island evaluate them?
Over the past few days, the media on the island have concentrated on criticizing the DPP's statement on the "four major referendums" for not being in line with the facts and completely forgetting its own previous views and deeds.
The China Times commented that except for the "nuclear fourth" issue, which the DPP has always opposed, the other three items were strongly advocated by the DPP when it was in the opposition. The DPP wants to persuade the public to cast 4 votes of disagreement, but this is tantamount to slapping itself.
Public opinion on the island mentioned that during Ma Ying-jeou's administration, then-DPP Chairman Tsai Ing-wen led a large-scale march against the import of "poisonous cattle," and the DPP opened up the "Lai Pig" without communication after coming to power. The editorial of Lianhe Bao pointed out that how can the masses be persuaded by such repeated vacillations, sacrificing the interests of the peasants, and disregarding the health of the people?
In the past, the DPP regarded the "referendum" as the main card of god, and in 2017, the law was amended to lower the threshold for "referendum", but unexpectedly the "referendum" cases were carried out in conjunction with the "nine-in-one" election the following year, and seven of them were passed. How can this practice of moving the law around as a stepping stone not make the people angry? The "Algae Reef" and "Nuclear Fourth" cases can be regarded as a vote of no confidence in the people's unreasonable energy policies of the Tsai authorities, and the authorities insist on going their own way, and Taiwan is likely to fall into a long-term power shortage crisis.
Taiwan scholar Liu Jincai believes that the DPP's self-interest calculations and double standards have gradually eroded its legitimacy in ruling the country. Freelance writer Yu Ruiming pointed out that the DPP's inconsistent views and deeds are too numerous to read, and it regards the law as nothing and public opinion criticism as a, so that Taiwan society has entered a dead end of not asking right from wrong, but only looking at colors. Media person Peng Huixian pointed out that the DPP is a chameleon, many acts of injustice, and it is "just right" to be repulsed in the "referendum."
Lianhe Pao pointed out that the DPP authorities will certainly turn the "four major referendums" into a "blue-green showdown" and elevate it to "the confrontation between national identity and anti-China ideology." However, this may not succeed, and the excessive manipulation of the rulers is likely to cause public resentment and receive greater counter-effects. (End)