Taiwan's Central Election Commission has blocked two opposition-backed referendum questions, a win for legal limits on lawmakers but a blow to the KMT and TPP, who call it a power grab.

• Only the proposal to scrap the nuclear-free homeland policy will go to a vote at the end of the year.
• Questions on earmarking traffic fines and introducing caning were both thrown out.
• Former commission chair Chen Yin-chien says the traffic-fine question involves budget decisions and steps on local government turf, so it cannot legally go to a referendum.
• Caning is not in Taiwan's criminal code and would clash with the human rights treaties Taiwan has written into law, making a public vote on it out of bounds.
• The commission's rejection of the caning question was unanimous, including three members recommended by the opposition parties themselves.

Outlook: The opposition can challenge the decision in administrative court, which would settle how far the commission's power reaches.