Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party is split over its response to an upcoming referendum on several key policy issues. Some in the party believe that the government should put counter-proposals on the ballot paper, while others disagree. The party’s chairperson, President Tsai Ing-wen, is expected to announce a party meeting on Saturday to discuss the issue before the referendum this summer.
August 28 will see a nationwide poll on whether to continue construction of Taiwan’s mothballed Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. That’s in addition to a potential three more questions relating to pork imports, referendum dates, and protection of an algal reef. All relate to key pillars of government policy.
One faction within the party believes the best way forward is to table new referendum questions opposing those already submitted. Supporters of this approach say it would allow the government to argue more clearly in favor of its policies. Since the deadline for collecting signatures for referendum questions has already passed, the government would have to table the new questions through alternate means.
However, another faction argues that this risks alienating voters. They say tabling counter-proposals will give the impression that the government would rather fight with citizens than listen to them. They also say that the political cost of losing the referendum would be far higher.
The Democratic Progressive Party plans to hold more than 300 events from mid-April onwards to explain the governments’ policies and its achievements so far.