Taiwan: Voters vote ‘no’ in referendums, opposition setbacks


TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwanese on Saturday rejected four referendum proposals that could have affected the island’s ties to the United States as well as its energy security, inflicting a setback on the opposition who wanted to make the ballot a vote of mistrust of the government.

The poll was being held as China stepped up military and political pressure on the island it considers a renegade province.

The main opposition party, Kuomintang (KMT), which has failed to shake off accusations it is too close to China, hoped the votes would demonstrate mistrust of the democratic government.

The two most controversial and high-profile referendums concerned the ban on pork meat containing ractopamine, and the relocation of the site of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant to protect a reef.

The Taiwanese government last year authorized pork imports in hopes of spurring a free trade agreement with the United States, where ractopamine, an additive for leaner, more protein-rich meat, is widely used. used, showing that the island is a reliable partner.

The government has also declared that it will move the site of an LNG plant, which should enable it to meet the energy needs of the island, in order to minimize its impact on a reef.

A third vote was to restart a nuclear power plant, as the government pledged to stop using nuclear power.

Voters voted against the proposals, as recommended by the government, but turnout was low.

For a resolution to be adopted by referendum, it must obtain at least 25% of the votes, or around 5 million.

In the end, about four million people voted “no” to all four questions, a higher number than the “yes” ballots.

The president of the KMT formation Eric Chu admitted that the result of the poll was not “ideal” and apologized.

(Report Ben Blanchard, with Sarah Wu; French version Camille Raynaud and Gwénaëlle Barzic)



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