Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) yesterday turned down a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) proposal for a special statute that would pave the way for a national referendum on the completion of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant after discussing the matter with DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌).
It is not possible for the Cabinet to issue an executive order halting the construction of the plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮), Jiang told a joint press conference he held with Su following their 90-minute meeting at the Executive Yuan complex in Taipei.
Jiang said the executive branch could not take a unilateral decision to resolve the decades-long controversy, given that an executive order to halt the project issued by the then-DPP administration in 2000 had been ruled unconstitutional.
Photo: CNA
“Besides, this administration has always supported completing construction of the plant so it can become operational,” he said.
The DPP’s proposal called for changing the national referendum threshold to a simple majority from the current regulations, which require the participation of 50 percent of eligible voters, half of whom must cast a “yes” ballot for the referendum to pass.
Jiang said that while he has always supported resolving the controversy via popular vote, “lowering the national referendum threshold over a highly contentious issue would be inappropriate.”
The proposed special statute also sought to phrase the nuclear referendum question in clear terms by simply asking voters whether they support or oppose the plant’s construction and for the plebiscite to be held by the end of the year.
The initiative was unveiled last week as part of the DPP’s effort to support the demand made by former party chairman Lin I-hsiung (林義雄) to halt the Gongliao project.
A prolific anti-nuclear advocate, Lin is to begin an indefinite hunger strike today in a bid to force the government to heed his call.
Jiang yesterday reiterated his position on Lin’s planned fast, saying that the news of the hunger strike had shocked and saddened him.
“I urge Mr Lin to not sacrifice his body for a political demand,” the premier said, adding that he did not rule out visiting the former DPP head to discuss the situation.
At the press conference, Su said he initiated the meeting to engage Jiang in “problem-solving,” which the DPP chair said entailed the government resolving the controversy as soon as possible and taking Lin’s hunger strike seriously.
“I’m not here to debate who did what in the past, nor am I here to argue with someone about the responsibilities of the administrative and legislative branches, because this have always been clear,” Su said.
“I am here today to work out a solution for the 30-year-old controversy over the Gongliao plant. Considering the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi meltdown in Japan, the anti-nuclear stance held by the majority of Taiwanese and Lin Yi-xiong’s sacrificing his body as a last warning, I think the answer to this problem should be very clear,” he added.
If President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration adopts a positive mentality toward resolving the issue, Su said he would not rule out meeting with the president and added that his party is open to negotiating with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) about the details or revisions of the proposed statute.
“There is no time to waste. The DPP is willing to do whatever it takes to resolve the issue. Hopefully, the nuclear power plant will become the first issue on which the two parties can achieve conciliation and cooperation,” he said.
Separately yesterday, Executive Yuan spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) said Jiang’s pledge that the government would not place fuel rods in the Gongliao station’s reactors before a referendum is held does not mean that the plant’s going online will be postponed indefinitely if a vote does not transpire.
If the legislature does not decide to put the issue to a popular vote, the plant could become operational, but only once the safety of the nuclear reactors is guaranteed, Sun said.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2