Another legacy of Taiwan's martial law period is the incredible power that technocrats wield. Taiwan's techno-bureaucrats have exercised extraordinary power in Taiwan for decades, holding commanding positions in a maze of state-owned enterprises, government agencies and so on.
"Things are still as bureaucratic as before. We're still completely left out of the decision-making process, still fighting against the same bureaucrats. Government policy should decided on from the bottom up. [The government] shouldn't be ramming their policies down our throats," says Wu.
Awaiting judgement
With the formation of the re-evaluation committee three months ago, the central government successfully dropped control rods into the boiling issue of the plant. The results of the re-evaluation committee are about to released, and when the wraps come off the plant, the issue could go critical once again.
Regardless of what the government decides, the fight over Taiwan's energy policy is not going away.
"Even if the government decides to build a natural gas plant, there will still be opposition, whether it be over the pipeline for the gas or a new harbor for ships bringing the LNG to Taiwan," says Professor Lee Min. "It's not easy to build anything in Taiwan anymore."
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