Despite Monday's ruling from the Council of Grand Justices that was intended to resolve the dispute over the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四), fighting between the DPP and the opposition renewed yesterday, as did the possibility of a no-confidence vote against Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄).
A main bone of contention is whether the plant's construction should resume before the Cabinet delivers to the Legislative Yuan a report on its intention to scrap the project.
The other issue is whether the Cabinet, after presenting its report, must comply with the legislature if it passes a resolution that may go against the Cabinet's wishes.
Opposition lawmakers insist that construction work must be resumed immediately, and have threatened to launch a no-confidence vote against Chang if he refuses to listen to the legislature.
"We won't allow the premier to disrespect the legislature, and we certainly don't rule out the possibility of raising a no-confidence vote against his Cabinet," said Cheng Yung-chin (
Citing Monday's ruling to back up the point, Lai Shyh-bao (
"The grand justices already made this point very clear. If the Executive Yuan still refuses to obey, it will be against the Constitution," Lai said.
Hwang Yih-jiau (黃義交), spokesman for the People First Party caucus, said the opposition parties are giving Chang an opportunity "to atone for his mistake."
"If he continues to violate the law, the legislature will look into his political responsibility," Hwang said.
Hwang said Monday's ruling pointed to "procedural flaws" in the Cabinet's October decision to scrap the plant, and so therefore the order is invalid because the process was unlawful.
Based on this logic, Hwang said construction work should be resumed immediately so as to restore the situation to "a lawful state."
Members of the DPP legislative caucus, however, said that it is unnecessary to resume construction work first, because the grand justices have not required the Executive Yuan to do so.
Chou Po-lun (周伯倫), DPP caucus convener, said the grand justices have stated that the Cabinet may carry out its plan to scrap the project if the plan obtains majority support from legislators.
"Before Premier Chang delivers his report to the legislature, the decision to halt the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant will remain valid," Chou said.
Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday predicted that the political struggle will continue unless the Cabinet is willing to show goodwill by announcing the resumption of construction work.
"The Executive Yuan acted like a thief in making a unilateral decision to discontinue the project. Before we can sit down to discuss the aftermath, we should ask the Executive Yuan to return what it has taken first, rather than allowing it to appropriate what it has stolen," Wang said.
Chen Horng-chi (陳鴻基), chairman of the Generation-E Alliance (e世代問政聯盟), a faction of KMT legislators, said procrastination over the project's resumption would create a good opportunity for the legislature to start a no-confidence vote against the premier.
"The Executive Yuan should specifically announce a continuation of the project. The DPP will be responsible for the collapse of Taiwan's economy if it keeps delaying it," Chen said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique