The budget of the fourth nuclear power plant is going to be cut in Taiwan Congress

Press release of the Green Party Taiwan, 7 November 1997

On 11/05, the Taiwan Congress (Legislative Yuan) at its Whole-Member Committee cut all of budget of its planned fourth nuclear power plant and shut down its project by three votings. According to the Budget Law, the act will be taken effective only after an approval of the following the second reading and the third reading. The anti-nuke activists said it was not only a success for the Taiwan anti-nuke movement, but also a slap to the new deal of the American nuclear facilities export to China after the Clinton-Jiang meeting regarding the NO-NUKE-ASIA forum.

On 11/05, hundreds anti-nuke activists gathered in front of the Legislative Yuan to call for a cut on the budget of the fourth nuclear power plant (two nuclear reactors). Inside the Legislative Yuan, the anti-nuke legislators (the members of Democratic Progressive Party, New Nation Front, and New Party) worked together to cut this budget. First they drew the agenda of the 1998 nuke budget (NT. 71,760,000.00) by a vote of 62 vs. 52. Secondly, two bills was passed to stop the project and previous budget of the nuke plant (NT. 123,956,823.00) by the votes of 56 vs. 0, when the Kuomintang protested that they cannot cut the already-approved budget. At finial, the anti-nuke legislators successfully cut off the 1998 budget by a vote of 56 vs.

This is not only a success for the Taiwan ten-year anti-nuke movement, said Kao Chen-Yuan, Convener of Green Party Taiwan, but also a blow to the Clinton-Jiang meeting, in which they agreed a 40 billion deal of nuclear facilities export to China.

Kao said that Taiwan was in a very critical and strategic position on the Asia and worldwide anti-nuke movement. Kao explained, the reactors of the fourth nuclear power plant in Taiwan are the first deal that the United States sell its nuclear reactors to Asia in the recent ten years. It is a critical deal to save the obsolete American nuclear industry. It is also the first cross-country nuclear cooperation by the United States and Japan in Asia. Now, we are not only anti-nuke activists in Taiwan, we have the responsibility for the anti-nuke in Asia.

According the Budget Law of Taiwan, every budget has to be reviewed by the following procedure: the first reading, the affiliated committee, the Whole-Member Committee, the second reading, and the third reading.

The Legislative Yuan has scheduled on 11/13 to review the 11/05’s cut. All parties have issued its mobilization order to ask all of its Congress members to show up on 11/13.

The Coalition of Taiwan Anti-Nuke also urges its supporters to block the Legislative Yuan to demonstrate its popularity of anti-nuke in Taiwan.

Anti-nuke power plant movement has a pretty strong base in Taiwan. In 1994, a civilian-initiated referendum on the fourth power plant in Taipei county, despite of governmental harassment, had twenty percent of voter turnout (about 400,000 voters). Almost vote against to the project of the fourth nuclear power plant. The authorities did not recognize its legal binding.

In 1994, the KMT passed the 8-years budget of the nuke power plant despite of the regulation of the Budget Law, asking an annual-review base on budget review. The anti-nuke called it illegal and asked for a judicial review. However, this request has been hold by the inactive of the Judicial Commission.

In 1996, the Legislative Yuan passed a resolution to stop the project of the 4th Nuke power plan. However, it was vetoed by the Executive Yuan, when needing 2/3 majority to overrule this veto.

best regards,

Chau-Yi Lin