Vice presidential candidates clash over energy policy

Taipei, Dec. 22 (CNA) The vice presidential candidates of Taiwan's two largest political parties on Friday night clashed over nuclear energy at a televised platform presentation held by the Central Election Commission, each accusing the other of being out of touch with international trends.

During her second round of remarks, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vice presidential candidate Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said Kuomintang (KMT) vice presidential candidate Jaw Shau-kong (趙少康) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) used to object to the use of nuclear energy but have now embraced it for the election.

Many businesses have joined the RE100 initiative to use 100 percent renewable energy and nuclear energy is not considered a "green" energy source under the initiative, Hsiao said.

Therefore, when formulating energy policy, the government must clearly identify international trends to avoid moving in the wrong direction and risk having Taiwan's businesses ostracized by the international community, the former Taiwan envoy to the United States said.

However, according to Jaw, the policy of the DPP administration is counter to the international mainstream because it ignores a joint statement by more than 20 countries that attended the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, including the U.S. and Japan, earlier this month calling for the tripling of nuclear energy capacity worldwide by 2050.

Their statement underscores the significance of the energy source in achieving net zero emissions, he added.

Jaw said he used to oppose the use of nuclear energy, but today the threat of global warming and air pollution far overshadow that of nuclear waste.

Judging by its current energy policy, which aims to completely shut down the country's nuclear power plants in 2025 and increase the share of natural gas in Taiwan's energy mix to 50 percent, the DPP is certain to miss its 2050 goal to achieve carbon neutrality, the media personality said.

Meanwhile, TPP vice presidential candidate Wu Hsin-ying (吳欣盈) took the opportunity to elaborate on her vision to create a sovereign wealth fund for Taiwan and push forward a digital healthcare system.

She also recommended adopting the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation to improving the country's protection of personal information, which would help to counter the problem of rampant telecoms fraud in Taiwan and ensure more balanced development among industries, instead of the current situation in which the government focuses too much on the semiconductor industry.