Former DPP chairman Lin I-hsiung (林義雄), a veteran anti-nuclear activist, yesterday offered to resign from his position as the senior advisor to the party, saying "I've done my best [to push for discontinuance of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (
Lin made the comment at a press conference after meeting with party Secretary-General Wu Nai-jen (
Lin also said that other DPP politicians and government officials, including President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), should examine their own wrongdoings during the party's policy-making process over the plant's fate.
Lin said he believed that the party had made a very bad impression on society by first deciding to scrap the plant, only to reverse the decision later on.
"The Council of Grand Justices had proposed three ways to settle the dispute over the plant, that is, passage of an energy law, the resignation of the premier and a vote of no confidence in the Cabinet. But none of those procedures was followed," Lin said, seemingly suggesting that the Cabinet should not have compromised and announced resumption of the plant's construction.
Lin, who had long advocated scrapping the plant, had previously said that no DPP government official would make a decision to build a nuclear power plant, including the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, since to do so would violate the party's platform.
When former premier Tang Fei (唐飛) was still in office and stated his intention to continue the plant's construction, Lin immediately argued that "the president should replace any Cabinet members who endorse the plant."
Shocked at Lin's move, Chen, Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
"President Chen said whatever his decision will be, Lin will always be the party's chairman. He also said he will continue to consult with Lin on national policies," Secretary-General to the Presidential Office Yu Shy-kun said yesterday.
Hsieh tried to interpret Lin's move, saying that Lin did not mean to embarrass the party, but to emphasize the DPP's insistence on turning Taiwan into a nuclear-free country and to condemn pro-nuclear politicians.
Lin, in addition, embraced the idea of holding a referendum to decide the plant's fate.
"It's the people's fundamental right to vote. It is also common sense in a democracy. Any politician who opposes the passage of a referendum law has undemocratic principles," Lin said yesterday, adding that holding a referendum to have people decide the plant's fate was feasible -- even without relevant legislation in place.
Lin, who had promised to lead an anti-nuclear parade scheduled for Feb. 24, also said that the parade's theme would not be altered to cater to any individuals' anti-government sentiments.
The demonstration will be held to appeal that a referendum be held at year's end to reverse the Cabinet's decision to continue the plant's construction.
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the southern coast of Mindanao in the Philippines at 7:38am today, prompting the US Tsunami Warning System to issue an alert for neighboring countries, including Taiwan. The system issued a purple alert indicating a "tsunami threat." The potential threat zone includes Taiwan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Yap and Palau. Philippine authorities were assessing the damage from the quake, with the office of civil defense seeking to verifying initial reports that 15 people had been killed and 129 injured in the region, mostly from falling debris. Arlene Hollero, disaster chief of Maasim town in the Philippines' Sarangani Province,
‘GRAY ZONE’ PRESSURE: Beijing’s activities are intended to create the deceitful impression that China has jurisdiction over the area around Taiwan, the CGA said Taiwan’s rights over its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone must not be violated by any country, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that it will not accept any unprovoked actions. The council issued the remarks in response to the China Coast Guard conducting maritime enforcement drills near eastern Taiwan and claiming to fully exercise China’s maritime administrative law enforcement authority. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has been closely monitoring the situation and is taking concrete steps to defend the nation’s sovereignty and secure its waters, the council said. China has no sovereign rights over the waters off eastern
RESILIENCE: Taiwan plays a key role in semiconductors, energy, information infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, AIT Director Raymond Greene said Taiwan’s continued investment in deterrence and resilience remains vital, especially in uncrewed systems and other emerging technologies, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday. Greene made the remarks at the annual National Strategic Summit on Supply Chain Resilience held by the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET), a government-backed think tank. As Taiwan last year became the US’ fourth-largest trading partner and supply chain security is becoming more important, cooperation in emerging technologies continues to deepen between the two countries, he said. The US is committed to accelerating innovation, building key infrastructure, strengthening cooperation
RIGHT DIRECTION: Taiwan’s efforts to prevent forced labor include a proposal to ‘fully prohibit’ employers from withholding workers’ documents, an official said Taiwan is to establish a mechanism to restrict imports of goods linked to forced labor, the Executive Yuan said yesterday, after the US proposed imposing additional tariffs on Taiwanese goods over labor concerns. “The Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Economic Affairs are to establish an interministerial review procedure,” Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “The government is to use the Foreign Trade Act [貿易法] as the legal basis to restrict imports of goods produced with forced labor” and bring its supply chain governance more in line with international standards on human rights, resilience
RSS