Legislators rejected the Atomic Energy Council's (AEC) budget late yesterday evening after it listed items which included funds for the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant which the Executive Yuan decided to scrap in October.
In the budget proposal document presented by the AEC yesterday, about NT$12 million was marked for the nuclear power plant. Legislators from the Sci-tech Information Committee rejected the budget with a vote of 9 to 5.
"If the plant is to be cancelled, why do you ask for money?" KMT Legislator Lin Yi-shin (
Hsia argued, however, that the legal basis for the plant had not changed.
"The future of the plant is dependent on a decision by the Council of Grand Justices," he said.
The legitimacy of canceling the plant has been disputed since Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) announced the decision in October. Under pressure from opposition parties, the Executive Yuan has appealed to the Council of Grand Justices to judge the constitutionality of the decision it made.
The first meeting of the Council to discuss the issue is scheduled for Dec. 21.
According to the AEC's budget, NT$8.54 million was set aside for developing regulatory technology to ensure the safety of two advanced boiling water reactors. The two reactors were to be installed at the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. An additional NT$3.3 million was proposed for regulating the safety of the plant during the process of its construction.
Hsia said he did not mind if the budget for the plant was cut, but added that if the government later decided to continue with the project, additional requests for funds might be necessary.
Meanwhile, Hsia admitted yesterday that the Executive Yuan had recently requested help from the AEC to rewrite the document it originally used to announce the plant's cancellation in late October.
The announcement and the reasons it listed for the plant's cancellation were criticized recently by 37 nuclear engineering professors from National Tsing Hua University.
Professors at Tsing Hua University, where nuclear energy research in Taiwan was initiated, said that the reasons were "unprofessional."
Hsia said yesterday that the AEC had refused to work with the Cabinet on the document.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in