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Cabinet approves bill on organization of nuke power safety commission

ROC Central News Agency

2013/02/21 23:07:31

Taipei, Feb. 21 (CNA) The Cabinet approved a bill on the organization of a proposed nuclear power safety commission on Thursday and will submit it to the Legislative Yuan for enactment soon.

The commission, to be converted from the current Atomic Energy Council which is similar to a ministry in the government's hierarchy, will be a third-tier organization under the direct jurisdiction of the Executive Yuan, but it will be given free reins in overseeing the safety of the country's nuclear power plants, according to Premier Jiang Yi-huah.

The commission will replace the proposed nuclear power safety agency to be formed under the planned ministry of science, in line with a consensus among various parties at the Legislative Yuan.

Although the bill is formulated to lay down the structure of the commission and has nothing to do directly with the controversial Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, it shows the importance the Cabinet attaches to safety in using nuclear energy , Jiang said.

Many people want the Executive Yuan to keep the Atomic Energy Council as a ministry, but it would boost the number of ministries beyond the limit stipulated in an act passed by the Legislative Yuan several years ago, and would go against the legislature's purpose of reorganizing the Executive Yuan into a lean and mean government branch, said Jiang.

Although the new commission will be set up under the Executive Yuan, it will do its job independently and free from interference, said the premier. He added that he had asked the Atomic Energy Council to draft a plan for the formation of the new commission's preparatory team.

The Cabinet passed the bill after many anti-nuclear power groups threatened to take to the streets on March 9 to oppose the state-run Taipower's request for an extra budget allocation of NT$40 billion (US$1.32 billion) to complete the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.

They called, with the support of the leading opposition Democratic Progressive Party, for an end to the construction on the nearly-completed plant.

(By Liu Li-jung and Maubo Chang)

ENDITEM/cs