Officials of the Cabinet's Atomic Energy Council (AEC) said yesterday that the future of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant should be decided as soon as possible in order to minimize expenditure on repairing structural damage caused by the halt in construction in the event that the project is to resume.
"The later the decision is made, the greater will be the effort needed to reinforce the damaged structure," AEC Vice Chairman Ouyang Min-shen (
Ouyang said that some exposed steel bars at the site had started to rust and that these required further expenditure and work to repair.
Construction of the plant, which is about 30 percent complete, was halted last October by Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄).
Following Monday's interpretation by the Council of Grand Justices, the opposition parties in the Legislative Yuan informed the Executive Yuan that any political negotiations aimed at ending the current political deadlock would not be carried out until construction of the power plant was resumed.
Ouyang, who is in charge of regulating both the nuclear safety and construction quality aspects of the project, said that inefficient implementation of an important national project like the nuclear power plant would cause huge social losses.
There was widespread speculation yesterday that the Executive Yuan intends to prolong the controversy surrounding the plant until the next legislative election, which will be held at the end of the year.
Ouyang said he had stated several times that the issue of whether to cease construction of the plant could not be decided by the Executive Yuan alone.
Instead, Ouyang said, the status of the plant and whether construction should begin again would have to be solved by legislation.
Ouyang said that he was happy that the opinion given by the Grand Justices was similar to his own view.
Facing an uncertain future in the shadow of the proposed plant, residents of Kungliao township (貢寮), in Taipei County, said yesterday that the continuing political struggle had shown that their "right to live" had been neglected.
"From Premier Chang's announcement last October, to the Grand Justices' explanation, we Kungliao residents feel like we have been sidelined.
"Who has ever thought about our feelings?" Kungliao township Chief Chao Kuo-tung (
Responding to the explanation given by the Grand Justices, Chao called for a referendum to decide the future of the plant.
Chao said that he would cooperate with local anti-nuclear activists from the Yenliao Anti-nuclear Self-help Association (
MILESTONE: The foreign minister called the signing ‘a major step forward in US-Taiwan relations,’ while the Presidential Office said it was a symbol of the nations’ shared values US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the state department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct a review “not less than every five years.” It must then submit an updated report based on its findings “not later
The Presidential Office today thanked the US for enacting the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law, signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday, is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct such a review "not less than every five years." It must then submit an updated
CROSS-STRAIT COLLABORATION: The new KMT chairwoman expressed interest in meeting the Chinese president from the start, but she’ll have to pay to get in Beijing allegedly agreed to let Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) around the Lunar New Year holiday next year on three conditions, including that the KMT block Taiwan’s arms purchases, a source said yesterday. Cheng has expressed interest in meeting Xi since she won the KMT’s chairmanship election in October. A source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a consensus on a meeting was allegedly reached after two KMT vice chairmen visited China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Song Tao (宋濤) in China last month. Beijing allegedly gave the KMT three conditions it had to
STAYING ALERT: China this week deployed its largest maritime show of force to date in the region, prompting concern in Taipei and Tokyo, which Beijing has brushed off Deterring conflict over Taiwan is a priority, the White House said in its National Security Strategy published yesterday, which also called on Japan and South Korea to increase their defense spending to help protect the first island chain. Taiwan is strategically positioned between Northeast and Southeast Asia, and provides direct access to the second island chain, with one-third of global shipping passing through the South China Sea, the report said. Given the implications for the US economy, along with Taiwan’s dominance in semiconductors, “deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority,” it said. However, the strategy also reiterated
RSS