The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its lawmakers yesterday condemned the Atomic Energy Council’s (AEC) approval for Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) to reactivate the No. 1 reactor at the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in Wanli District (萬里), New Taipei City (新北市).
The DPP said the council on Monday approved the proposal after Taipower repaired defective bolts and subjected them to safety checks to make sure the reactor can continue to operate safely for another 18 months.
“The DPP caucus demanded an immediate halt to the reactivation and condemns the AEC for continuing to push the envelope on reactivation, which had been deemed by the legislature as a dangerous move,” DPP Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) told a press conference, adding that the party reported the case to the Control Yuan.
DPP Legislator Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said it was unbelievable that the agency demanded that Taipower submit a plan for reactivation.
Taipower has never responded to more than 100 questions raised by the review committee after a number of problems were found in the No. 1 reactor, Cheng said.
“The AEC ignored an April 16 legislative resolution which demanded that the commission hold a public hearing and submit a report to the Legislative Yuan before reactivation,” she said.
DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said the agency’s unilateral decision amounted to contempt of the legislature.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is aware that Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong has weakened any possible sentiment for a “one country, two systems” arrangement for Taiwan, and has instructed Chinese Communist Party (CCP) politburo member Wang Huning (王滬寧) to develop new ways of defining cross-strait relations, Japanese news magazine Nikkei Asia reported on Thursday. A former professor of international politics at Fu Dan University, Wang is expected to develop a dialogue that could serve as the foundation for cross-strait unification, and Xi plans to use the framework to support a fourth term as president, Nikkei Asia quoted an anonymous source
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