The battle over the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant has shifted from the legislative and executive branches of government to the Control Yuan, as members of the country's watchdog for public officials vowed to speed up their investigation into the Cabinet's Oct. 27 decision to halt construction of the plant.
While the Cabinet announced on Wednesday that the project, which was interrupted for almost four months, would proceed, the future of the plant is far from secure.
"The political responsibility that should be shouldered by the officials involved is not our concern. We [the five-member special task force of the Control Yuan] will focus on the legal aspects of the decision-making process. That is, whether the decision was reached in accordance with the law," said Lin Shih-chi (
Lin went on to dismiss rumors that the resumption of construction of the power plant would affect the Control Yuan's decision.
"Our determination to make an impartial ruling ... has never been shaken. It is also unfair to make any speculation at the moment as the first meeting will not be held until next week."
Lin said that although no definite timetable had been set, they would proceed as quickly as possible.
In related news, disenchanted by the Cabinet's giving ground to renew the power plant's construction, anti-nuclear groups yesterday appealed to the Control Yuan, claiming that the government had failed to conduct a new environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the power plant, given that the specifications for the reactors had changed since the initial EIA was approved.
The petitioners said that the Cabinet was irresponsible to allow further construction of the plant as a significant increase to the planned power output of the reactor had been made, but not officially approved by the relevant government agency.
According to Kao Cheng-yen (
Kao pointed out that the government departments in charge had been censured in the past by the Control Yuan for failure to follow proper procedures, but so far no compensatory measures had been taken.
Government agencies also came under attack for failing to reassess the plant's earthquake resistance, as well as failing to find a proper site for the nuclear waste it would generate.
In response to the attacks, Control Yuan member Kang Ning-hsiang (
"Citing the change to the power output of the reactor, for example, how could such a vast change be made without a safety assessment being made beforehand" Kang said. "The assessment has to be done, and it needs to be done in accordance with an even stricter standard."
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
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source