Although new Premier Chang Chung-hsiung (
DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said that in his opinion Chang would likely adhere to the party's platform, which opposes nuclear energy.
Industry representatives, meanwhile, reiterated their support for continuing the project.
"No matter what the stance of the new premier, the project should be continued because the plant is an index of investors' confidence in the government's ability to stabilize the political situation and the stock market," said Chen Wen-yuan (
Lin Hsin-yi (
Stockmarket investors and businessmen had regarded outgoing premier Tang Fei (唐飛) as the political figure most likely to save the power plant.
Anti-nuclear activists at the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union canceled a meeting scheduled for yesterday morning, in which they were to visit Tang in order to persuade him to abandon nuclear energy.
Pan Han-chiang (
"We hope the new premier can reform the existing improper energy policy in order to bring us closer to sustainable development in Taiwan," Pan said.
Residents in Kungliao township, where the plant is located, said they did not want to push the new premier into taking a stand against the project because of what they described as "abnormal pressure" put on anti-nuclear activists.
A confidential source said recent political turbulence and a decline in the stock market had put the anti-nculear movement in a bad light.
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
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