2021 Taiwanese referendum

A four-question referendum will be held in Taiwan on 18 December 2021. The vote was originally scheduled to take place on 28 August 2021, but was postponed to December due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All four questions are popular initiatives. According to the Referendum Act, referendums can be held once every two years on the fourth Saturday of August and questions must gather a number of signatures equivalent to 1.5% of eligible voters (280,000) in order to qualify.

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Scheduling

Following the amendments to the Referendum Act passed in June 2019,[1][2] some of which set aside a designated day for referendums, specifying that referendums can be held once every two years on the fourth Saturday of August, referendums were scheduled for 28 August 2021. The threshold to initiate referendum questions had previously been lowered to valid signatures of 1.5 percent of eligible voters in a set of amendments passed in June 2017.[3] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan, the Central Election Commission announced on 2 July 2021 that the referendum would be postponed until 18 December 2021.[4][5]

In the 2021 Taiwanese referendum, there are four questions.[6] The first question to have passed the qualification threshold, in January 2021, considered the activation of the Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant.[7] The three other questions on the referendum were certified by the Central Election Commission in May 2021.[8][9] The opposition party Kuomintang offered support for two of the referendum questions, actively gathering signatures regarding ractopamine in imported pork, and future referendum scheduling.[10]

Questions

Algae reef protection

The first question refers to the construction of a receiving terminal for natural gas energy production on Taoyuan’s Datan Algal Reef. It is argued as necessary by the government as part of its fossil fuel phase-out plan but heavily criticized by environmental activists due to potential damage to the reef and its eco-system.[11][12]

Ban on ractopamine-containing pork imports

The second question on the referendum has to do with attempts to impose restrictions on the import of ractopamine-containing pork. Critics argue ractopamine is an additive illegal in 160 countries due to food safety concerns and that its import could damage local producers.[13][10] The opposition of the issue worries that the ban on the imports of ractopamine porks could potentially damage the international relationships and trade agreements of Taiwan, specifically the application of joning CPTPP as well as Taiwan–United States relationship.[14][15]

Nuclear plant

The third question, and the first to have passed the threshold is one on the activation of the Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant, which is located in New Taipei City. The plant was under construction until 2014, when it was shut down by the ruling Kuomintang Party due to concerns about the safety of nuclear power in the country. The policy has been maintained by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party as it planned to rule out all nuclear energy by 2025. The policy is heavily disputed by proponents of nuclear power, which lead to the inclusion of a question on the abandonment of the nuclear power termination plan in the 2018 referendum, in which results favoured the continuation of nuclear plants in the country.[16][17][18]

The ballot reads: "Do you agree that the 4th Nuclear Power Plant be activated for commercial operations?".[7]

Referendum dates

The fourth and last question asks whether referendums should be held alongside general elections if a referendum proposal is confirmed less than six months before a general election. The question was proposed by the Kuomintang, arguing that holding referendums alongside general elections would attract higher vote turnouts.[10]

References
  1. Wang, Flor; Chen, Chun-hua (17 June 2019). "Referendums to be limited to every two years from August 2021". Central News Agency. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  2. Hsieh, Chun-lin (18 June 2019). "Referendums decoupled from polls". Taipei Times. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  3. Lin, Sean (13 December 2017). "Referendum Act amendments approved". Taipei Times. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  4. Chien, Hui-ju; Chung, Jake (3 July 2021). "Commission pushes back referendum until Dec. 18". Taipei Times. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  5. "Taiwan postpones referendums amid COVID-19 concerns". Reuters. 2 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  6. "Taiwan's Referendum Mayhem". The Diplomat. Retrieved 26 March 2021..
  7. Yu, Hsiang; Hsu, Elizabeth (21 January 2021). "Nuclear power plant referendum set to take place in August". Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  8. Lai, Yu-chen; Hsu, Elizabeth (14 May 2021). "CEC approves three more referendums to be held on Aug. 28". Central News Agency. Retrieved 4 July 2021. Republished as: "CEC approves three more referendums for August". Taipei Times. 16 May 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  9. "Taiwan approves three referendums with pork, energy at top of list". Reuters. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  10. Chen, Chun-hua; Yeh, Joseph (9 March 2021). "KMT submits signatures backing two referendum proposals". Central News Agency. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  11. Chen, Kelvin (5 March 2021). "Taiwan's economics minister comments on algal reef referendum". Taiwan News. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  12. Wang, Flor; Yeh, Su-ping (1 March 2021). "Enough signatures collected to pass algae reef referendum threshold". Central News Agency. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  13. "KMT starts second phase of anti-ractopamine referendum campaign". Central News Agency. 5 January 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  14. "Minister: Allowing ractopamine pork imports pivotal for joining CPTPP". RTI Radio Taiwan International (in Chinese). Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  15. "Scholar says pork ban will hurt CPTPP bid; media personality claims 'obscurantism' - Focus Taiwan". focustaiwan.tw (in Chinese). Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  16. "2018 Referendum". 25 November 2018. Archived from the original on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  17. Ferry, Timothy (12 September 2019). "Despite Referendum, Nuclear Power Faces 2025 Deadline". Taiwan Business TOPICS. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  18. "Is Taiwan's nuclear policy dividing the nation?". Policy Forum. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
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