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February 2, 2001 Taiwan Premier May Seek Compromise
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By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 5:20 a.m. ET
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) -- Taiwan's premier indicated on Friday he may seek a compromise with the legislature and restore a nuclear power project scuttled three months ago.
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung made the remarks after meeting the president of the legislature, Wang Jin-pyng, to discuss resolving months of squabbling over the $5.4-billion nuclear plant, which is one-third complete
``We will meet again. We will try to resolve this quickly. We are not stalling,'' said Chang, Taiwan's No. 3 ranking leader.
The premier is appointed by the president and responsible for dealing with lawmakers.
In October, Chang infuriated opposition lawmakers by canceling the partially built plant without seeking the legislature's approval. Opponents of the project say Taiwan has nowhere to safely store the nuclear waste.
This week, lawmakers passed a resolution demanding the project be completed.
Chang indicated on Friday that the government might restore the project if the island can come up with a detailed plan to phase out nuclear energy. He noted that the legislature's resolution called for a nuclear-free Taiwan.
``We hope the legislature can express this in a more specific and concrete way,'' Chang said.
Taiwan has three other nuclear power plants built, and some lawmakers have proposed shutting them down sooner.
Chang also said the legislature needs to create clear procedures for holding public referendums to resolve future disputes.
But after meeting with opposition leaders, Wang said the lawmakers would not consider holding a referendum on the plant until the government restarts construction.
``The government only has to immediately restart construction on the fourth nuclear plant, and the big door to negotiations can be opened,'' Wang said.
The government has said it is not legally bound by the resolution, but the show of legislative force has pressured the government to reconcile.
Many lawmakers said scuttling the project, approved by a previous government, is a huge waste of taxpayers' money.
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