Visiting US energy experts yesterday shifted their lobbying efforts to legislators, especially those from the DPP, in the belief that these political figures could convince the central government to scrap the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (
Accompanied by anti-nuclear activists from the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union, John Byrne and Edward Smeloff met with legislators at the DPP caucus office in the Legislative Yuan yesterday afternoon.
During the meeting, Byrne, the team's leader, told DPP legislators that the new government should take into account the liberalization of the electricity industry when considering the nuke plant issue.
DPP Legislator Hsu Tain-tsair (
Smeloff told of his experience as an elected board director of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District between 1987 and 1997. During that time, residents voted to close a nuclear power plant in that California city.
DPP Legislators Lai Chin-lin (
Kao Cheng-yan (
Before visiting the legislators yesterday, Byrne, Smeloff and two other US energy experts -- Amory Lovins and Hunter Lovins -- paid a visit to Lin Hsin-yi (林信義), the minister of economic affairs.
Lin said he would not comment on the project because a ministry task force was reviewing the project.
"The project has its own historical burdens, but the coming final decision will be made based on different perspectives, including environmental and labor costs," Lin said.
In 1980, the Taiwan Power Co (Taipower,
Company officials say the plant is roughly 30 percent complete.
The DPP's victory in the March presidential election renewed hope that the project will be reviewed.
A ministry task force will decide the plant's future in September.
Lin told the US energy experts that he personally favors developing solar energy technologies and wind power plants, as Taiwan's unique climate and geographic conditions made those options ideal.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
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