President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday defended the government’s stance on the nation’s nuclear power program amid disputes over the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao District (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市), and said that the government will ensure nuclear safety before allowing commercial operation of the plant.
“We can reduce nuclear power gradually, but it will be hard to achieve this goal all in a single step,” Ma said at a meeting with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members in Keelung.
Ma, who is also KMT chairman, said he has instructed the Executive Yuan to explain the consequences and advantages if the construction of the power plant was halted and promised that the government will respect any decision made by the public on the issue.
Photo: Lu Hsien-hsiu, Taipei Times
Confronted with growing opposition to the government’s plan to complete construction of the plant and concerns over nuclear safety, Ma’s administration announced earlier this month that the issue of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant’s construction would be settled by a national referendum.
Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) said on Friday that he would resign if the government loses the vote and construction of the plant is halted, adding that if construction is halted it could lead to bankruptcy for state-owned Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) as well as cause other problems such as power shortages.
The referendum proposal from the government attracted criticism from the Democratic Progressive Party and anti-nuclear groups, as they said the move was designed to weaken the anti-nuclear movement, given the high threshold required for a referendum to pass.
A referendum would require mobilizing more than 9.15 million people, or half the eligible voters, to vote and would need to achieve 4.57 million “yes” votes to have the plant’s construction halted.
Ma declined to discuss the referendum yesterday, but promised that the government will not deceive the people nor generate public fear in an attempt to continue the construction.
“We will let the people make the final decision [on the construction of the power plant], he said, while stressing that most of the plant’s construction has been completed and that the government will invite foreign experts on nuclear power to inspect the safety of the plant before allowing its commercial operation.
In calling for KMT members’ support for government policies, Ma also said that the Executive Yuan will communicate with the public regarding pension reform, as the government’s pension reform proposal will be sent to the legislature next month for approval.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS