Taiwan justices to rule on nuclear power plant Monday

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Taiwan justices to rule on nuclear power plant Monday
  
TAIPEI, Jan. 12 (Kyodo) - Taiwan's constitutional watchdog will issue 
Monday a highly anticipated ruling on the standoff between the 
government and the legislature over the cancellation of a 
controversial nuclear power plant, a spokeswoman for the island's 
judiciary said Friday. 

The spokeswoman said the 15-member Council of Grand Justices, which 
was earlier reported to be deeply divided on the matter, managed to 
rally the required two-third majority for its decision at a meeting 
earlier in the day. 

The council will meet again Monday to report its decision to the head 
of the judiciary, Weng Yueh-sheng, before publicizing the outcome at 
a press conference, she said. 

The spokeswoman refused to reveal details on the content of the 
ruling. But local media have been reporting that the council's 
decision will censor as ''procedurally flawed'' Premier Chang Chun-
hsiung's announcing the scrapping of the nuclear power plant without 
the prior consultation of the legislature. 

But the reports, which were based on unidentified sources, said the 
justices will not explicitly say that the government violated the 
Constitution. 

The ruling will also say that the government needs to make up for its 
failure by reporting to the legislature on the policy change and 
winning parliament's support, but will not prescribe a specific 
course of events should the two sides remain at loggerheads, the 
China Times Express reported. 

Another Chinese-language evening paper, the Independence Evening 
Post, said the justices will brand Chang's decision as ''seriously 
flawed and not in line with the spirit of the Constitution.'' 

It was Chang who asked the council to take up the matter after the 
major opposition Nationalist Party (KMT) rallied other opposition 
parties for a campaign to oust Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian from 
office for his administration's alleged ''unconstitutional'' 
disrespect for the KMT-controlled legislature. 

The KMT, which ruled Taiwan for more than 50 years until May, 
railroaded bills for the construction of the plant through the 
legislature, which approved the plant's budget in 1994 and reaffirmed 
it again in 1996. 

Pressure has been high on the justices to speedily come to a decision 
to end the standoff between Chen's minority Democratic Progressive 
Party (DPP) government and the opposition parties. 

Hounded by the local media, the justices even resorted to moving 
their deliberations to a secret place earlier this week, only to be 
tracked down within a few hours. 

If the justices find fault with the government's cancellation of the 
plant, the opposition parties are expected to push for the 
resignation of Premier Chang and to affirm the construction of the 
nuclear power plant, which is already one-third complete. 

But government officials have said in recent days such a ruling would 
not necessitate Chang's dismissal or a cabinet reshuffle. Chang has 
said the decision on whether to pick a new premier will be entirely 
up to the president. 

The local stock market has been making gains in recent days, largely 
due to media reports anticipating the revival of the nuclear plant 
project. 

Some industry groups have voiced concerns about possible electricity 
shortages should the 2,700 megawatt plant not be completed. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Service		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc.			E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue  		E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com          	          
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Personal Website: http://sandyfl.nukeworker.net
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com

************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html