Taiwan Grapples With Nuke Policy

The opposition-controlled legislature approved a resolution Wednesday demanding that Taiwan finish building its fourth nuclear plant, a move that could help ease months of bitter political feuding.

Passed with a 134-70 vote, the resolution ordered the immediate restoration of the nuclear project but urged the government to make a long-term plan to phase out nuclear power.

The government had suspended construction of the plant in October, arguing that Taiwan had no place to store the waste and that developing alternative sources of energy would be cheaper than finishing the plant.

The decision angered opposition legislators who said they should have been asked to vote on it first.

The government is not legally bound by Wednesday's resolution.

Government spokesman Chiou I-jen said President Chen Shui-bian would be able to negotiate a compromise and wanted to meet with opposition lawmakers within a week.

But Legislators with the president's anti-nuclear Democratic Progressive Party complained that the resolution was contradictory.

"If you want to accomplish a goal of getting rid of nuclear power, why would you want to finish completing the plant?" asked David Chou, the head of the DPP legislative caucus.

Although several opposition lawmakers who supported the resolution also oppose nuclear power, they thought that since one-third of the $5.4 billion plant was complete, it would be a waste of money to stop construction.

However, the main issue in the debate was whether the government could scrap the nuclear plant without seeking the legislature's support. Lawmakers argued that since they approved the plant's budget during the previous Nationalist Party government, they should have been consulted about the project's fate.

The political feuding and gridlock over the plant was a factor in the stock market's 44 percent decline last year. But share prices surged 2.5 percent Wednesday to a near 12-week high.

Many expected that the resolution would insist that Premier Chang Chun-hsiung resign, but lawmakers did not make that demand, a possible effort to smooth relations ahead of further negotiations.

Three weeks ago, Taiwan's highest court ruled that the premier made "procedural flaws" when he decided to shut down the plant. The court ordered the premier to consult with lawmakers and negotiate an agreement.

Opposition lawmakers and several business leaders have argued that Taiwan would have an energy crisis if it didn't finish the plant.

Critics have long accused the once-ruling Nationalist Party of railroading it through the legislature in the 1990s.

Outside the legislature on Wednesday, about 70 people wearing yellow headbands or straw farmer hats protested the resolution. One demonstrator held a sign that said, "Legislators get bribes, and the Taiwanese people get a nuclear nightmare."

By Marcos Calo Medina
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