The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said that its stance on a “nuclear-free homeland” remains unchanged.
Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the DPP’s candidate for next year’s presidential election, at a forum on Sunday said that government agencies were studying the feasibility of maintaining closed nuclear reactors so they could be restarted in case of an emergency.
This led to speculation that President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) promise of a nuclear-free Taiwan by 2025 might not be fulfilled.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱), spokesperson for Lai’s election campaign, yesterday said that Lai’s remarks were in response to a student’s question: If Taiwan got into an extreme situation such as a war or a blockade, how can the energy gap be filled?
Lai’s answer was based on a hypothetical situation in which national security is at risk due to “extreme” external conditions, Chen said.
Taiwan should boost its energy self-sufficiency, Lai said, adding that it should develop plans to respond to emergencies and extreme situations.
Decisions made during unusual and extreme situations require social consensus, he said.
Lai did not mention or support extending the use of the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Shihmen District (石門) or the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里), the reactors of which have been shut down, Chen said.
DPP spokesman Chang Chih-hao (張志豪) yesterday said that the party’s promise of a “nuclear-free homeland” remains unchanged and the government would continue to develop and increase the ratio of energy from renewable sources.
Lai repeatedly emphasized the importance of renewable energy development and energy self-sufficiency at the forum, Chang said.
It is the DPP’s priority to expand self-sufficient renewable energy and energy storage equipment, to save electricity and reduce consumption, he said.
Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) has said many times that the goal of a “nuclear-free homeland” is a consensus in Taiwan, Cabinet spokesman Alan Lin (林子倫) said yesterday, adding that it has always been the government’s goal.
New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate for the presidential election, yesterday said that if elected, he would ensure nuclear safety and manage nuclear waste.
Nuclear power is one option among the nation’s diverse energy sources that he supports, Hou said, making his first statement on nuclear power as a presidential candidate.
He said he would ensure that energy sources are in line with global trends, and that there would be no shortage of electricity.
Asked about the DPP’s goal of creating a nuclear-free Taiwan by 2025, he said that “it can’t be done, really can’t be done.”
Meanwhile, regarding the Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold the life imprisonment of a man who was initially sentenced to death for setting fire to his rented residence, killing nine people, Hou said that the death penalty is fair, just and in line with public expectations.
“I’m against abolishing the death penalty,” he added.
Additional reporting by Lai Hsiao-tung and Chung Li-hua
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
The Taipei Zoo on Saturday said it would pursue legal action against a man who was filmed climbing over a railing to tease and feed spotted hyenas in their enclosure earlier that day. In videos uploaded to social media on Saturday, a man can be seen climbing over a protective railing and approaching a ledge above the zoo’s spotted hyena enclosure, before dropping unidentified objects down to two of the animals. The Taipei Zoo in a statement said the man’s actions were “extremely inappropriate and even illegal.” In addition to monitoring the hyenas’ health, the zoo would collect evidence provided by the public
‘SIGN OF DANGER’: Beijing has never directly named Taiwanese leaders before, so China is saying that its actions are aimed at the DPP, a foundation official said National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) yesterday accused Beijing of spreading propaganda, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had singled out President William Lai (賴清德) in his meeting with US President Joe Biden when talking about those whose “true nature” seek Taiwanese independence. The Biden-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Saturday. “If the US cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in seeking Taiwanese independence, handles the Taiwan question with extra
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
RSS