Halting of nuclear power plant may lack legal basis

An Executive Yuan official yesterday said the government may have trouble finding a legal basis to discontinue the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant budget, even if the Cabinet decides to scrap the project.

Lin Chuan (林全), head of the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said even the Budget Law, which is the law most likely to be cited in terminating the power plant project, may not allow the project's termination. According to the Budget Law, the government can only stop using a budget in the case of a national emergency.

"It is uncertain whether a policy change on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant project is applicable to this condition," Lin said.

Lin made the remark when briefing lawmakers on the Executive Yuan's review of the budget for the project.

The power plant, which was proposed by the former KMT government as a solution to Taiwan's power shortages, has been a source of controversy over the past decade and the focus of protests from environmental groups.

The DPP has actively campaigned against the project and has officially adopted an anti-nuclear power energy platform. Finding ways to have the project stopped has become one of the most important tasks facing the DPP now that it is in power.

Despite the fact that the project is already 30 percent complete, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has formed a committee to re-evaluate the feasibility of the project. Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Hsin-yi (林信義) is expected to submit his recommendation on whether to continue the project to Premier Tang Fei (唐飛) on Saturday.

At yesterday's meeting, DPP lawmakers argued that since there is no law requiring the government to finish its budget, the government would not violate any law if it decided to discontinue the project's budget and halt construction of the plant.

"This only involves a change of policy and failure to execute the budget," said DPP legislator Lai Chin-lin (賴勁麟).

Lin, however, warned that discontinuing the budget may provoke a struggle with opposition legislators who make up a majority in the legislature.

In 1996, the legislature adopted a resolution to cancel the NT$112 billion budget that had been passed in 1994 for the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.

The Executive Yuan at the time requested the legislature reconsider its decision, after which the budget was restored.

"The Executive Yuan is obliged to execute the resolution reached after the reconsideration process, because it is legally binding," Lin said.

Lin's explanation apparently failed to convince DPP lawmakers, who said they planned to file for an interpretation from the Council of Grand Justices to reach a final ruling on the issue.