[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.