In his address to leaders of the business community at an annual Lunar New Year celebration with industrial and business groups today, Premier Jiang Yi-huah wished all participants a prosperous new year, peace and good health, while also calling for them to support and voice their opinion on the Longmen Nuclear Power Plant referendum scheduled to take place in the summer.
Premier Jiang stated that Taiwan will ultimately become nuclear-free as mandated in Article 23 of the nation's Basic Environment Act, which states: "The government shall establish plans to gradually achieve the goal of becoming a nuclear-free country." In the meantime, he said, the government must gradually and steadily reduce the use of nuclear energy.
The Longmen plant, which would be the country's fourth, is 95 percent completed, Jiang said. If safety is ensured, and the plant begins operation, it would give the nation the time it needs to map out its energy policy and undergo structural adjustments so that electricity prices will not soar and severely impact Taiwan's economy during its transformation and upgrades, which are currently the government's top priority.
As some citizens have doubts about the fourth plant's safety, the Executive Yuan has proposed a referendum on halting its construction in hopes that all views—not just those opposing—will be freely expressed.
The premier reiterated that the government will never let a nuclear disaster like Fukushima's happen in Taiwan, as it has learned from the response measures taken there and determined that should a nuclear plant face vital damage, the government's only option will be to abruptly destroy and abandon it to control radiation as soon as possible.
"We would rather lose a nuclear plant that costs several hundred billion dollars than allow nuclear radiation to threaten the health of our citizenry," Jiang said.
Regarding the government's economic measures, the premier said that last year former Premier Sean Chen convened five financial and economic seminars with the industrial and business sectors and spent six to seven months promoting the Economic Power-Up Plan. Following the latest Cabinet reshuffle, the government will continue to implement Chen's economic blueprint and expedite its execution by removing obstacles and relaxing regulations. Premier Jiang emphasized that his Cabinet has strong planning and execution capabilities and will conduct dialogue with businesses on every subject to demonstrate the government's dynamism and determination.
As for the Free Economic Pilot Zone plans, which had yet to be announced when Sean Chen stepped down from office, Premier Jiang said he had asked Minister without Portfolio and concurrently Minister of the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) Kuan Chung-ming to take charge and to announce the plan to the public by the end of this month. Adhering to a forward-looking spirit and the principles of liberalization and internationalization, the administration will establish areas that meet the standards of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Meanwhile, the liberalization of current laws in the rest of the nation will be expedited, including those governing the financial sector and human resource development.
The premier stated once again his commitment to establishing a society of prosperity and propriety. His administration's biggest priority is to develop a robust economy in which every citizen can share in the prosperity, and aside from that, the premier expects to develop Taiwan into a highly civilized and cultured society, building on its democratic success so that communication, coordination and dialogue are the norm, while the widely detested partisan deadlock is cast off and unnecessary infighting and impasses are reduced. This way, citizens can jointly strive for meaningful goals, and this is the premier's objective for creating such a society, he said.
Accompanying the Premier today were Executive Yuan Spokesperson Cheng Li-wun, Deputy Secretary-General Chien Tai-lang, Minister without Portfolio and concurrently CEPD Minister Kuan Chung-ming, Minister of Economic Affairs Chang Chia-juch and Minister Chen Bao-ji of the Council of Agriculture.