At a Cabinet meeting yesterday, most of the ministers in attendance favored halting construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四), but a final decision on whether to do so was not made.
Chen Po-chih (
Other agencies, including the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Environmental Protection Administration, echoed the CEPD's view, arguing that alternative projects are feasible and places for dumping nuclear waste are difficult to find.
Chairman of the Atomic Energy Council Hsia Der-yu (夏德鈺), however disagreed with the CEPD's proposal, saying that Taiwan had no problems with handling nuclear waste. Hsia added that the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant was safe and that contingency measures had been included in the event of natural disaster.
Chiou I-jen (
"The premier will fully review the project's political, social and economic impact before a final decision is made. The Cabinet's decision will nevertheless be made no later than the end of this year," Chiou said.
He added that a public hearing would not necessarily be held to debate the controversial issue.
Chiou said that the premier would look carefully into three specific aspects of the issue. "First, the nuclear safety and the handling of nuclear waste. Second, feasibility of alternative projects, and third, whether it is illegal [to scrap the plant]," Chiou said, refusing to give a definite answer as to whether the Cabinet was in favor of halting the plant.
DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (
When asked whether it were possible for the Cabinet to continue construction of the plant and shut down the first and second plants -- as opposition legislators from the KMT and New Party have suggested -- Chiou replied that "the possibility is very unlikely."
"Even if the first and second plants are scrapped, there will still be nuclear waste. Besides, it is more expensive to shut down the two plants than to leave them there. The suggestion won't work," Chiou said.
Chiou added that the Cabinet, so far, has not been pressured by any US interests and, in his view, "the US is not likely to meddle since the rights of GE, the plant's contractor, have been guaranteed by a legally binding contract."
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
CONSISTENT COMMITMENT: The American Institute in Taiwan director said that the US would expand investment and trade relationships to make both nations more prosperous The US would not abandon its commitment to Taiwan, and would make Taiwan safer, stronger and more prosperous, American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said. “The US’ commitment to Taiwan has been consistent over many administrations and over many years, and we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan, including our opposition to any attempt to use force or coercion to change Taiwan’s status,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Friday last week, which was published in the Chinese-language newspaper yesterday. The US would double down on its efforts
SECURITY: President William Lai has announced plans to restore the military court system that was disbanded in 2013 to address a surge in Chinese infiltration efforts Taiwan plans to reinstate military judges to hear Chinese espionage cases and other offenses involving Taiwanese service members, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. There would be a review and legal amendments “to reinstate the military trial system,” he told reporters after a national security meeting. “Military judges will return to the front line,” Lai said. Military judges would work “alongside prosecutorial and judicial agencies to handle criminal cases involving active-duty military personnel accused of treason, aiding the enemy, leaking classified information, dereliction of duty, insubordination and other military offenses,” he said. The number of people prosecuted for spying for Beijing has risen sharply,
RSS