Members of a task force charged with reviewing the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (
The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) established the 19-person team early this week under persistent pressure from anti-nuclear activists, who are demanding President Chen Shui-bian (
The group is composed of government representatives, academics, and industry members. Opponents of the project make up the majority of the task force members.
Four National Taiwan University professors -- Chang Kuo-lung (
"At the first meeting, we hope to discuss the rules of the game, including the order of the agenda and ways of participation," said Shih, a professor of chemical engineering who is also a former head of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union.
Shih also said activists hoped to pass a resolution to broadcast the team's discussions in the future.
They also hope to rally officials who have been supportive of environmental activism in the past, Shih said.
"I'm sure that Environmental Protection Administration chief, Lin Jun-yi (
For many years now, the CEPD head has been on friendly terms with the DPP, which has long supported environmental issues in Taiwan.
Other task force members, who have expressed support for nuclear energy in the past, include Atomic Energy Council Chairman Hsia Der-yu (夏德鈺), industry representatives Wang Chung-yu (王鍾渝) from China Steel Corp (中鋼), Liao Pen-ta (廖本達) from Taiwan Power Company (Taipower), and professors Lee Min (李敏) from National Tseng Hua University, and Wu Tsai-yi (吳再益) from the Taiwan Research Institute.
Shih said Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Hsin-yi (
"We have not yet heard these two key persons' opinions on the project, so we're going to fight to bring them to our side" said Shih.
Shih said the MOEA suggested representatives from several government agencies attend the meeting to help answer any technical questions task force members may have.
But Shih expressed bewilderment at the fact that officials from the Department of Health, Council of Agriculture and Ministry of Transportation and Communications were not on the list to attend the meeting.
Shih said such agencies had much to do with nuclear energy issues, given its proven health risks, possible environmental impact, radioactive waste management, and emergency evacuation in case of an accident.
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
Both sides of the Taiwan Strait share a political foundation based on the “1992 consensus” and opposition to Taiwanese independence, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) today said during her meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Both sides of the Strait should plan and build institutionalized and sustainable mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation based on that foundation to make peaceful development across the Strait irreversible, she said. Peace is a shared moral value across the Strait, and both sides should move beyond political confrontation to seek institutionalized solutions to prevent war, she said. Mutually beneficial cross-strait relations are what the
ECONOMIC COERCION: Such actions are often inconsistently applied, sometimes resumed, and sometimes just halted, the Presidential Office spokeswoman said The government backs healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges, but such arrangements should not be made with political conditions attached and never be used as leverage for political maneuvering or partisan agendas, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks after China earlier in the day announced 10 new “incentive measures” for Taiwan, following a landmark meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in Beijing on Friday. The measures, unveiled by China’s Xinhua news agency, include plans to resume individual travel by residents of Shanghai and China’s Fujian
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