Premier Lin Chuan (林全) is being “juvenile” in asking all government agencies to turn off their air conditioners in the early afternoon as part of his energy-saving policies, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said yesterday, adding that the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) opposition to nuclear energy would put the nation’s power supply at risk.
The “nuclear-free home” policy championed by the DPP government has proven unattainable, as power rationing is expected to be imposed soon given Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower) low power reserves, KMT caucus whip Lin Te-fu (林德福) said.
KMT caucus vice secretary-general Wang Hui-mei (王惠美) said that Lin’s order that agencies turn off air conditioning from 1pm to 3pm during the summer has drawn mounting criticism from civil servants, which they said felt like “food in a steamer.”
“Like juveniles, Lin and his Cabinet appear to be proud of their ineffective energy-saving policy,” Wang said.
When the DPP was in opposition, it used to accuse Taipower of making false statements about the nation facing a potential power shortage, but now even DPP supporters, such as Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), has expressed concern over a possible shortfall in the nation’s electricity supply, Wang said.
The DPP’s conflicting remarks over the nation’s energy supply has left the public with no choice but to “grudgingly” take measures to conserve electricity, she said.
“President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration excels at using grand, but hollow language like hipsters do, and the Executive Yuan order that agencies turn off air conditioners in the afternoon is no different,” KMT Legislator John Wu (吳志揚) said.
KMT caucus vice secretary-general William Tseng (曾銘宗) said he believed power would be rationed in some regions as soon as next week, with the Tsai administration likely breaking its promise that there would be no power rationing this year.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
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