Thu, Jun 20, 2002 page8

• Editorial: Cleaning up a nuclear disaster

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  While attending the funeral of anti-nuclear activist Chen Ching-tang (陳慶塘) on Sunday, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) wrote the statement, "We will surely succeed" on the activist's portrait. Chen did not explain what he meant, but it gave people plenty of room for imagination at a sensitive time when a furor was raging over revelations of shoddy construction at the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.

  Chen's message can be interpreted in two ways -- that even though construction of the plant has resumed, Taiwan society has already reached a consensus on a nuclear-free homeland or that the movement against the plant will surely succeed. Ever since the government was forced to resume the plant's construction, the DPP has continually tried to rekindle debate on the issue, demanding a halt to the construction and suggesting that the plant be turned into a nuclear energy museum instead of being made operational. Given the DPP's anti-nuclear-power stance, questions have been raised about the government's supervision of the construction. Four companies subcontracted by China Shipbuilding (中船) used substandard welding rods. Opposition lawmakers suspect the error might be connected to influence-peddling by four of their DPP colleagues and an investigation is now underway.

  Another uproar was sparked Sunday when the government announced the administrative penalties that those linked to the substandard construction would receive. China Shipbuilding's general manager Chiang Yuan-chang (江元璋) received a minor demerit while construction supervisor Chen Chih-kuang (陳智光) was handed a major demerit and that was the most severe penalty. Such light punishments for a case where shoddy work could potentially cause a major disaster is not only an insult, it has reinforced the conspiracy theories of those who think the DPP has been deliberately lax in supervising construction in the hopes that safety problems will cripple the plant. Public protests over the light punishments prompted the Presidential Office and the Cabinet to take stronger action, including replacing the chairman of China Shipbuilding.

  But the damage to both the government and the DPP's reputation will be harder to repair. The government should severely punish all officials who are found guilty of dereliction of duty, no matter who they are. The DPP must investigate whether its lawmakers were indeed involved in influence-peddling and mete out severe punishments to those found guilty.

  Even though the DPP is not happy about the plant, it must face reality. If the government tries again to halt construction, its credibility will go down the drain and the negative impact on domestic and foreign investment will be profound. The most responsible strategy for the government is to ensure the plant is built well and operates smoothly and safely. The government is already working to set up a cross-party task force to monitor the plant. Such a task force should include people from both sides of the nuclear divide in order to ensure the group operates objectively and fairly in overseeing construction, the awarding of future contracts, the plant's operation and the handling of nuclear waste.

  The Fourth Nuclear Power Plant has already been a political disaster for the government and the DPP. Both must now do all they can to avert the possibility of a real nuclear disaster.
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