A major public policy dispute has broken out over the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (
Unlike more advanced democracies, Taiwan did not go through an "enlightenment" period. But the ideas presented by French Enlightenment thinker Jean Jacques Rousseau in his major work The Social Contract can still shed some light on the nuclear plant issue.
First of all, Rousseau thought citizens should be concerned about national affairs. "As soon as public service ceases to be citizens' chief business ... the State is not far from its fall," he said.
The deputies of the people, therefore, are merely their stewards -- not their representatives -- because "sovereignty ... cannot be represented."
"The people of England regard themselves as free; but they are grossly mistaken; they are free only during the election of members of parliament. As soon as the MPs are elected, the people become slaves," he said.
Rousseau believed there is often a great difference between the "will of all" (volonte de tous) and the "general will" (volonte generale). The latter considers only the common interest, and is a "pure activity of the intellect."
In contrast, the "will of all" takes private interest into account, and is no more than a sum of particular wills, according to Rousseau.
Each person gives himself or herself to the supreme leadership of the "general will" in accordance with the social contract -- not to any individual or political party.
When it comes to voting on public affairs, Rousseau said, "The more concert reigns in the assemblies ... the greater is the dominance of the general will. Conversely, long debates, dissensions and tumult proclaim the ascendancy of particular interests and the decline of the State." Also, the more important a public policy decision is, the more unanimity of opinion it requires.
Rousseau's thought has had an impact on democratic politics in the US and Western Europe. Looking from Rousseau's perspective, the key point in the nuclear power plant dispute is not about whether the Legislative Yuan has the power to decide on the resumption of construction, or whether the Executive Yuan has the power to halt construction.
Such an important public policy issue must be decided by the people's will, and the people have the obligation to be concerned about the issue and to decide the plant's fate. The people only abide by the "general will" -- not the "will of all." Obviously, the nuclear plant is a public policy issue related to Taiwan's long-term survival and development, and therefore should be debated until a majority of people agree. Only then will any decision represent the "general will." Otherwise, both the Executive Yuan's unilateral decision to scrap the plant, and the Legislative Yuan's decision to resume construction, will remain merely the "wills of all," none of which are decisions that the people should accept.
If thedecision to build the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant is incorreect, then the Legislative Yuan's decision to resume construction can still be changed. If the policy of building the plant is correct, then the Executive Yuan can resume construction even if the Legislative Yuan's decision is interpreted as not legally binding.
What the people are concerned about is this: if the ruling party believes its anti-nuclear policy is right, then why didn't it put any greater efforts into promoting its policy and winning over public support during its first six months in power before making the decision?
In particular, why didn't it explain to the people in detail that there would be no power shortages without the plant, what alternatives were available, and how the aftermath of the scrapped construction would be handled? Would it be feasible to build the plant and then decommission the first, second and third nuclear power plants successively?
Similarly, the people will also ask the opposition alliance: if its final goal is to build a nuclear-free nation, then why must it insist on building the plant? Is it because we have no other alternatives? If the plant is built, then how are we to handle the nuclear waste -- a major concern in the anti-nuclear camp?
Also, recent tectonic changes around the world have triggered one major earthquake after another, including the recent quakes in Central America and India. Taiwan's 921 earthquake destroyed every single house around the epicenter. How are the people to evacuate if the epicenter of a future tremor happens to be near the plant?
In 1996, China test-fired missiles into the sea off Keelung -- not too far from Kungliao, the site of the plant. What will happen if China fires missiles at the plant by mistake when cross-strait relations are tense? If US technology was not able to prevent the accidental missile attack on the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, how can we be so sure about the accuracy of Chinese missiles?
Nuclear plants are a controversial issue all over the world. Unlike the unification-independence dispute, this does not have to do with ethnic issues. The government should hold televised debates on the issue just like those during the presidential election campaign.
Are the people of Taiwan free only during elections, as Rousseau put it? Do they become slaves as soon as the elections are over? Why do we only see "general wills" fighting over this issue -- why can't we see the "will of all?" Why is it that we are only seeing political struggles instead of political persuasion?
Hsiao Hsiung-lin is an associate professor at National Taipei University.
Translated by Francis Huang
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