The Executive Yuan and opposition lawmakers yesterday moved a step closer to ending an impasse over the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant
The decision was made during a meeting between Premier Chang Chun-hsiung
While the Executive Yuan had been expected to announce a resumption of the plant's construction last Monday, a strong backlash from within the DPP prevented the premier from doing so, and interrupted negotiations between the Executive Yuan and the opposition.
After the meeting, Su Tzen-ping
This expression, which is obviously a plain description of the current situation, replaced a Feb. 6 proposal that said the Executive Yuan was willing to do so "with the coordination of the president."
Secondly, Su said, subsequent budgets for the project will be handled "in accordance with the law," replacing a previous expression that they would be handled by "the newly-elected legislators based on the most recent public opinion," meaning those elected in this December's legislative election.
Finally, the Executive Yuan will draft an energy law, and the legislative process for the law will be completed via negotiations between ruling and opposition lawmakers, Su added.
This is different from a previous proposal, which asked for negotiations before the draft is raised.
The opposition had rejected the Feb. 6 proposal, saying the plant was a "major national affair" on which the legislature had the constitutional power to make resolutions, and thus did not require coordination by the president.
In addition, the opposition saw the proposal to have the next legislature handle the project as undermining sitting legislators and as a ploy to win the sympathies of anti-nuclear voters in the year-end elections.
Responding to the Executive Yuan's revised proposal, Legislative Yuan speaker Wang Jin-pyng
Leaders of the KMT, People First Party and New Party caucuses, meanwhile, unanimously said that if what Su announced yesterday is the final version that the Executive Yuan will send to the legislature, they will accept it.
"[The version] is similar to what the opposition coalition proposed on Feb. 5," said KMT caucus whip Cheng Yung-chin
The Executive Yuan is expected to present the revised version to the nine-man panel hosted by President Chen Shui-bian
No announcement of resumption of construction of the plant is expected before tomorrow at the earliest.
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
EMBRACING TAIWAN: US lawmakers have introduced an act aiming to replace the use of ‘Chinese Taipei’ with ‘Taiwan’ across all Washington’s federal agencies A group of US House of Representatives lawmakers has introduced legislation to replace the term “Chinese Taipei” with “Taiwan” across all federal agencies. US Representative Byron Donalds announced the introduction of the “America supports Taiwan act,” which would mandate federal agencies adopt “Taiwan” in place of “Chinese Taipei,” a news release on his page on the US House of Representatives’ Web site said. US representatives Mike Collins, Barry Moore and Tom Tiffany are cosponsors of the legislation, US political newspaper The Hill reported yesterday. “The legislation is a push to normalize the position of Taiwan as an autonomous country, although the official US
CONSISTENT COMMITMENT: The American Institute in Taiwan director said that the US would expand investment and trade relationships to make both nations more prosperous The US would not abandon its commitment to Taiwan, and would make Taiwan safer, stronger and more prosperous, American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said. “The US’ commitment to Taiwan has been consistent over many administrations and over many years, and we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan, including our opposition to any attempt to use force or coercion to change Taiwan’s status,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Friday last week, which was published in the Chinese-language newspaper yesterday. The US would double down on its efforts
RSS