Legislators criticized Taiwan Power Company (Taipower
Officials of Taipower, however, said that the resumption of construction had to be initiated step by step.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
A dozen KMT legislators, members of the Economics and Energy Committee (
At a workshop, contractors working at Taipower's Lungmen construction office (龍門施工處) in Kungliao told the legislators that Taipower had not paid them contractual dues or refunded their deposits after their contracts were rescinded when the Cabinet decided to halt construction last October.
Some contractors complained that because banks had little confidence in the project, it was very difficult to borrow money for re-bidding.
Tseng Tsai Mei-tso (
In addition, legislators who inspected the plant's construction site were upset with the abandoned appearance of the site, saying that such a serious lag in construction is a major safety concern.
Lin Ching-chi (
"We still hope that construction of Unit One (一號機) of the plant will be completed by July 2005, which is the original deadline," Lin said.
KMT legislator Tseng Yung-chuan (
"The financial losses due to the delay should not be borne by electricity users. Therefore, we strongly demand a monthly report outlining the percentage of completed construction," Tseng said.
In Kungliao, local anti-nuclear activists seem to have lost the spirit to fight the plant over what they call "the deception" of the DPP-led central government.
President Chen Shui-bian (
Activists from anti-nuclear groups are continuing calls for the government to stay focused on the negative impacts caused by the construction.
"Based on recent observations, half of the beach at Fulung (
Lai said that workers operating dump trucks were too busy to dump sea sand transferred from other locations to the beach to restore the environment. "The beach is scheduled to open next month, but the Fulung environment is in no condition for it," Lai said.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
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