As Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) open opposition to the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Gongliao District (貢寮) cast doubt on the stance of those in the pan-blue camp on nuclear issues, New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday said that he will meet with Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) next week to discuss the issue of nuclear power.
Chu, who heads the municipality where three of the nation’s nuclear power plants are located, has proposed absentee voting in the nuclear referendum, and accompanied President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on a visit to a company in the city yesterday morning.
Chu said that he and Jiang regularly exchange views about the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant and said he will meet with the premier next week to continue their discussions.
Photo: Hung Juei-chin, Taipei Times
The Ma administration’s proposal to hold a national referendum on whether to halt construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant has been met with mounting criticism, not only from the opposition, but also from large swaths of the public who expressed their concerns over nuclear power during a number of recent anti-nuclear rallies held across the nation.
Hau’s open opposition to continuing construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant has thrown the spotlight onto other pan-blue figures’ stances on the issue.
Chu yesterday dismissed Hau’s latest comments that he would vote to support suspension of construction of the plant if the referendum was held immediately, and said the real question should be whether the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant can operate safely.
“It is meaningless to talk about hypothetical questions because the referendum is not being held now. People are worried about the safety of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, and the referendum would be unnecessary if the plant is not considered as safe,” he said.
When questioned by reporters, Chu refused to comment on whether he supported the suspension of construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant and insisted that the government should provide open and transparent information on the safety of the power plant to the public.
Hau is the first local government leader from the pan-blue camp to declare his stance on the nuclear issue by saying on Thursday that he would vote “yes” in a national referendum asking voters if construction and operation of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant should be halted.
His announcement prompted Ma to call him on Thursday night to discuss his stance on the issue. The president also met Hau on Friday evening at the Presidential Office to continue their discussions.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it