Safety, social consensus prerequisites for any nuclear policy shift: Lai

Taipei, April 22 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Tuesday assured environmental groups that his government's position on nuclear power remains unchanged and that safety and securing societal consensus would have to precede any policy change.

Lai said that any change to the government's nuclear policy - which, since the previous President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) administration, has aimed to gradually phase out nuclear power in Taiwan - must meet "three prerequisites."

Those prerequisites include ensuring nuclear safety, achieving proper nuclear waste management and securing social consensus on the issue, he said.

In addition, the government "maintains an open attitude toward new and advanced nuclear technologies" as it works to provide stable energy supply and meet its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

Lai's comments were made at a closed-door meeting with representatives from approximately a dozen environmental groups, including the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (TEPU), the Taiwan Academy of Ecology, among others.

The Presidential Office released Lai's opening and concluding remarks following the roughly three-hour talks with the NGOs.

Speaking at a news conference afterward, TEPU Chairman Shieh Jyh-Cherng (謝志誠) commended Lai's comments, calling them timely as opposition parties seek to alter the current nuclear policy through law revisions.

Shieh was referring to proposals that would allow for the operation of Taiwan's remaining active nuclear reactor at the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant to be extended and other already decommissioned ones be brought back.

Meanwhile, Wang Hsing-chih (王醒之), secretary-general of the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, expressed concern that the government's plans to purchase more liquefied natural gas (LNG) could lead to a proliferation of LNG receiving terminals in Taiwan and increased carbon emissions.

Lai has pledged to purchase more LNG from the U.S. in a bid to address Taiwan's trade surplus with Washington, and he told the NGOs on Tuesday that such deals would be critical for Taipei's tariff negations with the Trump administration.