The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said that its stance on a “nuclear-free homeland” remains unchanged.
Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the DPP’s candidate for next year’s presidential election, at a forum on Sunday said that government agencies were studying the feasibility of maintaining closed nuclear reactors so they could be restarted in case of an emergency.
This led to speculation that President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) promise of a nuclear-free Taiwan by 2025 might not be fulfilled.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱), spokesperson for Lai’s election campaign, yesterday said that Lai’s remarks were in response to a student’s question: If Taiwan got into an extreme situation such as a war or a blockade, how can the energy gap be filled?
Lai’s answer was based on a hypothetical situation in which national security is at risk due to “extreme” external conditions, Chen said.
Taiwan should boost its energy self-sufficiency, Lai said, adding that it should develop plans to respond to emergencies and extreme situations.
Decisions made during unusual and extreme situations require social consensus, he said.
Lai did not mention or support extending the use of the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Shihmen District (石門) or the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里), the reactors of which have been shut down, Chen said.
DPP spokesman Chang Chih-hao (張志豪) yesterday said that the party’s promise of a “nuclear-free homeland” remains unchanged and the government would continue to develop and increase the ratio of energy from renewable sources.
Lai repeatedly emphasized the importance of renewable energy development and energy self-sufficiency at the forum, Chang said.
It is the DPP’s priority to expand self-sufficient renewable energy and energy storage equipment, to save electricity and reduce consumption, he said.
Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) has said many times that the goal of a “nuclear-free homeland” is a consensus in Taiwan, Cabinet spokesman Alan Lin (林子倫) said yesterday, adding that it has always been the government’s goal.
New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate for the presidential election, yesterday said that if elected, he would ensure nuclear safety and manage nuclear waste.
Nuclear power is one option among the nation’s diverse energy sources that he supports, Hou said, making his first statement on nuclear power as a presidential candidate.
He said he would ensure that energy sources are in line with global trends, and that there would be no shortage of electricity.
Asked about the DPP’s goal of creating a nuclear-free Taiwan by 2025, he said that “it can’t be done, really can’t be done.”
Meanwhile, regarding the Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold the life imprisonment of a man who was initially sentenced to death for setting fire to his rented residence, killing nine people, Hou said that the death penalty is fair, just and in line with public expectations.
“I’m against abolishing the death penalty,” he added.
Additional reporting by Lai Hsiao-tung and Chung Li-hua
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
‘ONE CHINA’: A statement that Berlin decides its own China policy did not seem to sit well with Beijing, which offered only one meeting with the German official German Minister for Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul’s trip to China has been canceled, a spokesperson for his ministry said yesterday, amid rising tensions between the two nations, including over Taiwan. Wadephul had planned to address Chinese curbs on rare earths during his visit, but his comments about Berlin deciding on the “design” of its “one China” policy ahead of the trip appear to have rankled China. Asked about Wadephul’s comments, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said the “one China principle” has “no room for any self-definition.” In the interview published on Thursday, Wadephul said he would urge China to
RSS