Several academics in the legal field yesterday said that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) are obscuring the facts and misleading the public by asserting that it would be against the Constitution to stop construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Gongliao District (貢寮).

Two civic groups urged the Cabinet and the ruling party not to use supposed violations of the Constitution as an excuse for holding a referendum on the matter, because a referendum should be held based on the principle of responsible politics.