The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is mobilizing members who hold public office to participate in a sit-in outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on Tuesday to support former DPP chairman Lin I-hsiung (林義雄) when he starts fasting to protest the continuing construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮).
The sit-in is scheduled to begin at 3pm on Tuesday to coincide with Lin’s planned start to his hunger strike earlier in the day, the DPP said after a meeting on Friday.
The demonstration is set to run from 9am to 6pm every day until Friday, the party said, adding that it also plans to hold discussions on site with experts and representatives from non-governmental organizations on nuclear energy and environmental policies.
The sit-in is to be followed by a road-running event on Saturday, also dedicated to the anti-nuclear movement, DPP spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said.
The series of events are part of the party’s anti-nuclear energy initiatives, after Lin announced his hunger strike calling on the government to halt the Gongliao plant’s construction, Chang said.
Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) has said he that hopes Lin, a political figure the premier said he holds in high regard, will abandon his “self-harming” method of protest and voice his opposition to the power plant via a “normal” channel instead.
Meanwhile, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) yesterday said the party is willing to hold talks with high-ranking government and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials to discuss ways to resolve the controversy over the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
“It is time to hold a national dialogue between the KMT and the DPP to end the controversy over the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, which has lasted 30 years and has become a symbol of confrontation between the two parties,” Ker told a press conference in Taipei.
“Let’s talk,” he said, adding that he has asked KMT caucus whip Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) to convey the DPP’s message to “the top five government and KMT officials,” — President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), Jiang, National Security Council Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) and KMT Secretary-General Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權).
Separately yesterday, former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said it is worth considering a dialogue between the pan-green and the pan-blue camps over the nuclear facility’s construction, but added that “the main point hinges on the ruling party being sincere in carrying out such talks.”
She said that members of the public have often felt that, when it comes to Ma, sincerity is an issue and that many people see a lot of political calculation behind everything the president does.
“Many hope that after the Sunflower movement, Ma has engaged in introspection and is learning how to listen to the many different voices from the public,” she said. “If Ma retains his previous attitude, there’s not much to look forward to even if the opposition and the public are sincere in having dialogue with the president.”
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
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
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source