New light was shed on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (
The need to enact a new energy development law has become the main point of agreement between the two sides, though they differ on whether construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant should be resumed immediately or after the law is passed.
To try to solve the months-long deadlock over the issue, Chen yesterday finally intervened to coordinate negotiations between the Legislative Yuan and Executive Yuan in an informal meeting.
After two rounds of closed-door meetings between Legislative Yuan speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) earlier in the day, during which both sides revealed their proposals and bottom lines, Chen immediately invited Wang and Chang to his residence to discuss the possibility of a compromise.
The private meeting reached some agreements, including that the Cabinet would propose a new energy development law as soon as possible and submit it to the legislature for review, said a top aide to the president.
Only after the passage of the law will the Executive Yuan announce a resumption of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant project, the aide said.
"Wang will bring the proposal back for discussions with the opposition alliance," said the aide, "and we believe that the opposition parties will accept the compromise."
The aide, however, declined to reveal further details of the president's private meeting, saying both sides still need to hammer out their bottom lines.
"Chen now has to remain neutral," the aide said. "The president will respect any final resolutions made by the two Yuans."
Meanwhile, both Chang and Wang said the gap between the legislative and administrative branches had been narrowed after several rounds of meetings.
"The distance between both Yuans is getting smaller and smaller," Wang said.
Chang made the first move by visiting Wang yesterday morning to relay the Executive Yuan's positions on the matter.
"I fully understand and take very seriously the resolution adopted by the legislature on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant," Chang said.
"We are glad that the legislature, in the foreword of its resolution, has stated that building a nuclear-free country is an ultimate goal," Chang added.
In addition, Chang proposed passing legislation to institutionalize referendums as a mechanism for solving disputes over aspects of major public policy.
Wang then relayed the Executive Yuan's positions to a meeting of leaders of opposition legislative caucuses. Wang made an afternoon return visit to Chang to convey the legislators' responses to Chang's proposals.
Wang said it was the unanimous position of the opposition coalition that the Executive Yuan should accept the legislature's Jan. 31 resolution that construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant be "resumed immediately."
"For the sake of political stability, economic development and the well-being of the people, the door for negotiations can be opened after the Executive Yuan has announced a resumption of the construction work," Wang said.
Wang also said the Executive Yuan should draft the energy development law and submit the bill to the legislature as soon as possible.
On Chang's proposal concerning a referendum law, Wang said "everything is negotiable" after the door to negotiations is reopened.
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
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
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
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