[News] [Papers]
Taiwan to Resume
Work on Nuclear Power Plant
(AFP, Feb. 13, 2001) Taiwan's government on Tuesday agreed to resume work on
a controversial nuclear power plant project, seeking to end months of
political crisis sparked by the issue. Premier Chang Chun-hsiung forged the
accord with parliamentary speaker Wang Jin-pyng, who was authorised by the
opposition coalition to do so. "For the country's political stability
and economic development ... we have decided to sign the agreement,"
Chang said. The four-point accord states that the 5.6 billion-US-dollar
project should be reinstated immediately and that its budget decided through
related regulations.
Presidential Office,
Cabinet Accept Ruling
(China Post, Jan. 16, 2001) Both the Executive Yuan and the Presidential
Office yesterday expressed full respect for the Council of Grand Justices'
ruling on the constitutionality of the Cabinet's decision to halt work on the
Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. The Cabinet stressed that the justices' verdict
does not clearly specify that the executive branch violated the constitution,
while the Presidential Office lauded the constitutional interpretation as
setting an excellent example for settling policy disputes between the
executive and legislative branches.
Scrapping of Nuke
Plant Need Legislative Approval: Grand Justices
(CNA, Jan. 15, 2001) Taiwan's Council of Grand Justices ruled that the
Executive Yuan did not follow due process of law in abolishing the island's
fourth nuclear plant. The council ruled that the
Executive Yuan's decision to scrap the partially completed nuclear plant was
"a reversal of major national policy" which should have required
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung to report to the Legislative Yuan in advance and
field questions from lawmakers. Stopping short of branding the decision unconstitutional, the
ruling calls for the Executive Yuan to follow the correct procedure "as
soon as possible" by reporting to the legislature and seeking its
approval.
Taiwan Opposition Parties
Send Proposal to Impeach Chen Shui-bian
(AFP, Dec. 22, 2000) Taiwan's three major opposition parties on Friday filed
a proposal to parliament for the impeachment of President Chen Shui-bian. In
the motion, opposition lawmakers called on Chen to respect the constitution,
take action for a resumption of talks with the mainland, and improve Taiwan's
economy, he said. The PFP whip Li Chin-an told reporters the motion was filed
as an official document but it would not be put on the agenda for a vote in
the near term.
Taiwan's Top Judiciary
Hears Nuclear Plant Debate
(AP, Dec. 21, 2000) Opposition lawmakers and government officials squared off
on Thursday in Taiwan's highest court, which is trying to decide if the
premier illegally scrapped a nuclear plant. During the closed-door hearing
for the Grand Justices, three legislators argued that Premier Chang
Chun-hsiung violated the constitution when he decided to cancel the US$5.4
billion project, which was approved by the legislature and was one-third
complete.
Taiwan Impeachment
Row an Internal Matter, China Says
(AFP, Nov. 14, 2000) Moves in Taiwan to oust President Chen Shui-bian are an
"internal matter" for the island, China said Tuesday, while urging
politicians to do more to improve cross straits relations. "The problem
in Taiwan is an internal matter of the island," foreign ministry
spokesman Sun Yuxi said at a routine briefing.
'Big Three' Meet to
Talk over Strategy
(Taipei Times, Nov. 12, 2000) The leaders of the KMT, the People First Party
and the New Party came together to discuss how to better supervise the
president and ways that the three can successfully cooperate. The six-point
statement concluded, in part, that the government should be run according to
a constitutional system, that market forces should be allowed to act freely
and that disaster reconstruction work should be continued unhindered.
Opposition Heads
Confirm Crusade to Oust President
(CNA, Nov. 11, 2000) The leaders of Taiwan's three main opposition parties
confirmed at a meeting Saturday that they support the campaign to oust
President Chen Shui-bian and pushed for the appointment of a premier with
broad support. ... leaders of the three parties called in a joint statement issued after their
meeting for the restoration of
accountability stipulated in
the Constitution, meaning a government with both the president and the
premier as its heads. Under the so-called dual-head government, the joint
statement said, the president should consult the majority party in the
legislature when choosing his premier.
Taiwan Nervously
Eyes China Amid Crisis
(Reuters, Nov. 10, 2000) Taiwan fears domestic political turmoil could make
it vulnerable to hostilities from China, but so far there are no signs of
military activity on the mainland, defense minister Wu Shih-wen said on
Friday. Any military action would trigger an instant response from Taiwan, Wu
told Reuters in an interview.
Grand Justices to Rule
on Nuclear Plant
(Taipei Times, Nov. 9, 2000) Premier Chang Chun-hsiung yesterday announced
that the Executive Yuan will file for a constitutional interpretation with
the Council of Grand Justices tomorrow in order to seek a solution to the
legal disputes surrounding the government's decision to scrap the
controversial Fourth Nuclear Power Plant project. The premier will ask the
judiciary to determine whether or not the termination of the Fourth Nuclear
Power Plant violated the Constitution.
Taiwan Opposition
Steps Closer to Ousting Chen
(Reuters, Nov. 7, 2000) Taiwan's opposition-dominated legislature on Tuesday
moved a step closer to dismissing President Chen Shui-bian by revising rules
on ousting the island's head of state. A Nationalist Party-led opposition
coalition, which commands an overwhelming majority in the 220-seat
parliament, passed legislation requiring that any motion to dismiss the
president be voted on in public instead of by secret ballot.
Opposition Parties Unyielding on Recall Effort
(China Post,
Nov. 6, 2000) Opposition parties are showing no sign of easing their stand on
dismissing President Chen Shui-bian in spite of Chen's public apology
yesterday for the timing of the Cabinet's announcement for scrapping the
Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. The opposition today accused the president of
lacking sincerity, and of failing to address legal aspects of the decision to
cancel the power project.
Taiwan's President Apologises over Nuclear Row
(AFP, Nov.
5, 2000) Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian on Sunday apologised to the leading
opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and the public for the political tensions sparked
by the scrapping of a partly built 5.6 billion US dollar nuclear power plant.
The surprise apology came two days before the three major opposition parties
plan to raise a parlimentary motion to impeach Chen.
Taiwan Disasters Push Politics Into Background
(Reuters, Nov.
2, 2000) Opposition parties softened their public attacks on Taiwan President
Chen Shui-bian on Thursday after a deadly air crash and a typhoon, and they
may delay a bid to oust the embattled leader out of respect for the dead. The
Nationalist Party, which has been leading an opposition bid in the
legislature for Chen's dismissal, has curbed its attacks on Chen since the
plane crashed on Tuesday night.
Opposition Recall Drive Gaining Strength
(Taipei
Times, Nov. 1, 2000) A drive by opposition parties to recall President Chen
Shui-bian yesterday continued to gain support from legislators while
lawmakers voted to cancel a scheduled interpellation session with Premier
Chang Chun-hsiung. "We have collected 122 petition signatures [as of
yesterday's legislative session] for a vote to recall the president, however,
our goal is 150 signatures so as to show our strength," said KMT
Legislator Ting Shou-chung.
Taiwanese Opposition Unifies Against President
(Washington
Post, Nov. 1, 2000) Leaders of Taiwan's three main opposition parties pushed
ahead today with a bid to remove President Chen Shui-bian from office,
announcing that they had collected enough votes in parliament to begin a
dismissal effort. It remained unclear whether this new anti-Chen coalition,
whose leaders' suspicions of one another rival their determination to topple
Chen, could hold together long enough to see the effort through.
Taiwan Opposition Pushes to Oust President
(Reuters,
Oct. 31, 2000) An opposition drive to oust Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian
gathered steam on Tuesday with opponents ignoring attempts to defuse his
biggest crisis since taking office in May. The three major opposition
parties, which far outnumber Chen's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
in parliament, said they had collected enough signatures from legislators for
a motion to dismiss him.
Taiwan's Chen Moves to Avert Constitutional Crisis
(Reuters,
Oct. 30, 2000) Taiwan's embattled government moved Monday to avert a
constitutional crisis and prop up financial markets battered by its decision
last week to halt construction of a controversial nuclear power plant.
President Chen Shui-bian has invited the heads of the five branches of
government -- executive, legislative, judicial, examination and the island's
top government watchdog -- to a meeting Monday evening in a bid to defuse
mounting pressure.
Taiwan's Opposition Challenges President's Nuclear
Plant Decision
(AP, Oct.
29, 2000) Taiwan's opposition parties will challenge a presidential order to
scrap a partially completed nuclear plant, threatening to set off a
constitutional and financial crisis for the island's five-month old
government. Lawmakers of the opposition People First Party and Nationalist
Party will close ranks and seek new legislation to reverse the decision of
President Chen Shui-bian to abandon Taiwan's fourth nuclear plant, party
leaders said Sunday.
Taiwan Ends Construction of Its 4th Nuclear Plant
(New York
Times, Oct. 28, 2000) President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan halted construction
today on a nuclear power plant that had been championed by the country's
former officials and had come to symbolize the wide gulf between them and the
new president. Prime Minister Chang Chun- hsiung, who announced the decision,
said building a fourth nuclear plant in Taiwan was unnecessary and would
create unacceptable environmental and safety hazards.
Premier Confirms Cancellation of Nuclear Plant
(Taiwan
Headlines, Oct. 27, 2000) Premier Chang Chun-hsiung announced that the
Executive Yuan has decided to cancel the partly built Fourth Nuclear Power
Plant. According to Chang, the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant is not only an
economic issue, but also critical to the existence of Taiwan's 23 million
people.
Taiwan's Premier Quits Amid Nuclear Power Row
(Reuters,
Oct. 3, 2000) After just four and a half months in office, Taiwan Premier
Tang Fei dropped a bombshell on Tuesday when he announced his resignation
after a row over whether to scrap the island's fourth nuclear power plant.
Tang, 68, became Taiwan's shortest serving premier when he stepped down
citing deteriorating health. Tang's departure will make it more difficult for
Chen's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to get legislation through
parliament, which is dominated by the main opposition Nationalist Party, of
which the outgoing premier is a member.
Taiwan Nuclear
Row Might Explode Despite Ruling
(Reuters, Jan. 16, 2001) A ruling by Taiwan's constitutional court that a
cabinet decision to scrap a nuclear plant was flawed cheered the island's
financial markets on Tuesday but might have sown the seeds of political
turmoil. Analysts said the ruling had only postponed confrontation between
President Chen Shui-bian's anti-nuclear government and the
Nationalist-dominated legislature which wants the plant to be built. The
confrontation could lead to the resignation of Prime Minister Chang
Chun-hsiung or the dissolution of the legislature and fresh parliamentary
elections.
Recall Threat Has Not
Disappeared
(China Post, Nov. 8, 2000) President Chen Shui-bian's public apology on Sunday
over an improperly timed announcement by his administration of the decision
to scrap the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant appears to have somewhat eased the
momentum of a campaign to dismiss him, but the crisis of the leader facing an
eventual recall resolution for his removal is far from over. How the recall
campaign will develop in the immediate period ahead will, to a great extent,
depend on public opinion. The number of people opposing a resolution to
dismiss the president has grown far larger than the number supporting such a
move, since Chen offered his apology.
Taiwan's Leader Under Fire, With Some Out to Unseat
Him By Erik Eckholm
(New York Times,
Nov. 6, 2000) Less than six months after Chen Shui- bian's inauguration as
president, an event widely hailed as a milestone because it was Taiwan's
first democratic transfer of power from the long-ruling Nationalists, Mr.
Chen and opposing parties are mired in an ugly and divisive stalemate with no
end in sight. Not only has Mr. Chen been unable to press his ambitious dreams
of reform, but his very survival in office could also be in peril as
opponents wave before him the ultimate political weapon, a recall election.
A Grave Test for Taiwan Democracy By
Philip Bowring
(International
Herald Tribune, Nov. 4, 2000) The threat by Taiwan legislators to impeach the
recently-elected president, Chen Shui-bian, says more about the immaturity of
constitutional democracy on the island than it does about the gravity of the
mistakes of the president. The fundamentals of the crisis lie in the
uncertain relationship between executive and legislature in a constitution
which has evolved very rapidly, and is still evolving. There is not the
complete separation of powers that exist in the U.S. model. Taiwan's system
is in principal closer to that of France, where cabinet ministers are also
members of Parliament.
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