Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) politicians yesterday urged New Taipei City (新北市) Mayor (朱立倫) to clearly state his position on the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in the city’s Gongliao District (貢寮), saying that as the head of the administrative zone where three nuclear power plants are located, there should be no ambiguity regarding his position on the issue.
On Monday, Chu said that Taiwan is not qualified to use nuclear energy because it is still unable to deal with the problem of nuclear waste, and that the safety issue should be a priority over the construction of another nuclear power plant.
The DPP’s New Taipei City office director Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) and its Taipei City office director Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said that Chu’s remarks “failed to look after the interests of residents in New Taipei City” and he sounded “more like [he was] speaking in the capacity of a president.”
As the country is engaged in heated debate over a national referendum on whether to suspend construction of the nuclear power plant — which has already cost more than NT$300 billion (US$10 billion) — the first question for Chu as New Taipei City mayor is whether the votes of city residents should be weighted in the national poll because of the direct impact of the power plant on their lives, Lo said.
“It seemed to me that Chu made those comments with the political competition between him and Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) in mind. That was why he spoke more like a premier or a president, rather than the New Taipei City mayor,” Lo added.
Regarding Chu’s pledge that a nuclear safety watchdog committee under his administration would monitor the power plant’s safety measures to the strictest standards, Lo said that no individual or institution is able to guarantee the safety of a nuclear power plant, because there is always the risk of accidents occurring.
Lo urged Chu to stop the rhetoric and state his position publicly, adding that the mayor likely holds an anti-nuclear stance, judging from his remarks in interviews.
Chuang also questioned Chu’s ambiguous position, saying the mayor “is most qualified to voice the city’s opposition to the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.”
“He should have been more outspoken about the safety of city residents and their livelihoods,” Chuang said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS