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Ex-Vice President Annette Lu delivers referendum petition in New TaipeiBy Lauly Li, The China Post TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Former Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday went to New Taipei City Hall to deliver a petition with over 50,000 signatures calling for a local referendum on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
March 12, 2013, 12:19 am TWN Lu, accompanied by former Premier Yu Shyi-kun, handed the petition to the city government's secretary-general, Chen Shen-hsien (陳伸賢). New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) told the press earlier in the day yesterday that he considers the referendum a national, rather than regional, concern. Chu also stated on his official Facebook page that he disagrees with holding a local referendum just for New Taipei because, to some extent, everyone in the nation has to bear the consequences of a nuclear-free homeland. According to the Referendum Act, the decision of a city referendum review commission shall be reported to the Executive Yuan for ratification, Central Election Commission Vice Chairman Liu I-chou (劉義周) said. Lu said the ideal way to solve the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant issue is for President Ma Ying-jeou to issue an order to halt Nuke 4's construction; however, if there is a necessity to hold a referendum, New Taipei residents shall have priority votes on the issue. According to the referendum proposal's statement of reasons, if fuel rods are installed in the plant, New Taipei residents may suffer the potential nightmare of a nuclear disaster. Lu said that as the power plant is located in New Taipei's Gongliao District (貢寮區), residents have the right to speak for themselves. If the Executive Yuan ratifies the proposal as a local referendum and the number of signatures reach 150,344, Chen said, the city can hold a local referendum at the end of the year or at the beginning of 2014 at its earliest.
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