Following a request by Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
Negotiations broke down last Tuesday when both sides were unable to agree on how the debate over the plant should be resolved.
The Legislative Yuan called for an immediate resumption of the project before negotiations could continue. The Cabinet, however, insisted that negotiation was the means by which both sides could hammer out an agreement over resuming the construction of the plant.
"The opposition's present stance is the immediate resumption of the project, `with each side having its own interpretation' (一個復工,各自表述)," New Party lawmaker Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) quipped yesterday.
Tseng Yung-chuan (
"The opposition has continuously demanded that the ruling DPP restart construction. The problem at the moment lies in the differing views between the Presidential Office, the executive branch and DPP headquarters. Only the Cabinet is entitled to decide on a time to pick up the project. The ball is in the court of the Cabinet," Tseng said.
Addressing a statement made by the Executive Yuan on Feb. 6 in response to the opposition's position, Lai said the only point at issue concerned the Executive Yuan's agreement to implement the unfinished budgetary bill slated for the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant after negotiation and mediation by the president.
"[Opposition lawmakers] do not think the president is entitled to mediate any legal disputes, so we insist the wording has to be changed," Lai said.
In response, Government Information Office director Su Tzen-ping (
Philip Yang (
Yang added that the upcoming meeting between People First Party chairman James Soong (
"It seems Soong is more likely to compromise over the issue given that the PFP is a minority party within the legislature. The forthcoming meeting should be critical."
Yang said that whether the president will be able to create an environment for negotiation was also pivotal.
"The continual remarks made by the two sides are of no use to end the contention. The president should come forward to ease the tension and create a friendly atmosphere for negotiation," Yang said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
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CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from