The law would not allow for electricity-sharing with China, and there is sufficient energy supply on the nation’s outlying counties, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said today in response to a proposal by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) for Kinmen County to connect to China’s electricity grid.
The proposal came after China’s Taiwan Affairs Office on April 12 announced 10 new “incentive measures” for Taiwan, which included plans to build "four links" — water, electricity, gas and bridges — between Fujian Province and outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang counties.
The two counties are closer to China than Taiwan’s main island.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
After Cho gave a report at the Legislative Yuan today, Chen asked him how the government views China’s “four links” proposal.
The establishment of water links between China and the outlying islands is already underway, Cho said.
However, the other proposals — electricity, gas and bridges — require consultation with local governments and entail national security considerations, he said.
China supplies Kinmen with water every day, rising from 80 percent of the county’s supply to 90 percent, Chen said.
The government aims to avoid draining underground water resources and generates little supply from other sources, such as desalination and reservoirs, she said.
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said that if China were to cut off Kinmen’s water supply, groundwater could be used as a backup.
Chen asked Kung how long the 20,000-tonne-per-day groundwater extraction could last, to which he said he “hopes it does not ever come to that.”
If the government views China as a “foreign hostile force,” it must make greater preparations for possible contingencies, Chen said.
Speaking on the electricity supply, Chen said that Taiwan could connect to China’s grid and save up to NT$3 billion (US$95.16 million) per year.
Cho said that the proposal would require legislative reforms, which would prioritize the needs of local industries and communities, although the outlying islands currently have sufficient energy supply.
He suggested that the Ministry of Economic Affairs first investigate how to reduce reliance on fuel through diversifying the development of renewable energy.
However, the government is capable of providing critical infrastructure for the outlying islands, Cho added.
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