President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is embarking on an inspection tour of the nation’s power plants — including nuclear, solar and natural gas stations — and will stay overnight at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Ma-anshan (馬鞍山), Pingtung County.
Ma will be accompanied by Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) and Deputy Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) during the two-day trip to promote the government’s nuclear policy.
Ma will take the presidential plane and arrive in Greater Kaohsiung in the morning to visit the Yongan Liquefied Natural Gas Plant, the Yongan Solar Power Station and the Hsinta Power Plant, Presidential Office spokesperson Lee Chia-fei (李佳霏) said.
He will then proceed to the Ma-anshan plant for a two-hour inspection tour in the afternoon, Lee said.
The president and premier would stay overnight in the plant’s staff dormitory, he added.
Ma will meet with staff at the Ma-anshan plant for breakfast tomorrow and head back north to inspect the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant that is being built in Gongliao District (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市).
Ma will invite staff at the Gongliao plant to discuss their experience working at the plant.
The president is making the two-day trip amid the dispute over the building of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
There has been growing public opposition to the construction of the Gongliao plant due to safety concerns, while experts are divided over the costs associated with generating electricity from nuclear sources and the economic impact of potentially halting the plant’s construction.
A Cabinet-proposed referendum on whether to finish building the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant failed to clear the legislature on Friday before the legislature went into recess.
The legislature is holding provisional meetings later this month to discuss key nuclear issues, including the referendum.
With dozens of media outlets covering the trip, Lee said the president would use the occasion to explain the government’s energy policies and explore the advantages and disadvantages of replacing nuclear power with alternative energy resources.
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