2025-08-13
Chairman Lai Ching-te's Remarks at the DPP Central Standing Committee on August 13
On August 13, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) held the 45th session of the 21st term of its Central Standing Committee. Chairman Lai Ching-te made the following remarks:
The Central Weather Administration has issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Podul. Its outer bands have already reached Taiwan, and it will make landfall on our east coast.
Although this typhoon should cross Taiwan quickly today, it is expected to bring strong winds and heavy rainfall to eastern and southern Taiwan. The central and local governments must make every preparation for prevention and relief. We must make rapid loss assessments in order to provide necessary assistance and reduce the impacts of the typhoon on our people.
As for the disaster areas in central and southern Taiwan following Typhoon Danas [which made landfall in Taiwan on July 6] and subsequent monsoon rains, many households who suffered damage to their homes have not been able to complete repairs. Therefore, I have asked all of our party’s elected officials to work together with local governments on related measures to ensure the safety of lives and property for all affected citizens.
Meanwhile, the Chikungunya virus continues to spread globally, and we have recorded 17 imported cases here in Taiwan. Since Chikungunya virus is transmitted by mosquitoes, in order to prevent its domestic spread, the government will work together with the people to carry out cleaning of water storage containers and residential environments. Through effective anti-mosquito efforts, together we can stop the chain of transmission and prevent an outbreak of this virus.
Finally, all our party members and supporters and the public at large are concerned about the upcoming referendum on August 23. As I have stated on May 20 [in a speech marking his first anniversary in office], after the passing of amendments to the “Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act,” and as we face the issue of whether to restart any nuclear plants, the government will act carefully, following “two requirements” of procedure and upholding “three principles.”
The first procedural requirement is that, according to the law, the Nuclear Safety Commission must adopt a regulation for the process of reviewing the security of plants. On August 1, the Commission completed drafting the regulation and opened a public consultation. Until September 30, they will collect the opinions regarding the draft, and then undertake revision.
The second procedural requirement is that Taipower must follow the new regulation to undertake its own safety review, and it must also assess whether a plant meets the conditions for restarting and the timeframe and cost estimates for doing so. At last week’s policy presentation, Taipower Chairman Tseng Wen-sheng [Vincent Tseng] clearly explained the company’s readiness to undertake these assessments after the regulation is finalized.
The government’s consistent position has always been to address the issue of nuclear power responsibly, based on the three principles of alleviating concerns about safety, solving the waste disposal issue, and building social consensus. For the nuclear power issue, safety is the overriding consensus of Taiwanese society, and we all know that safety is a scientific issue, it cannot be resolved by a referendum.
This referendum on restarting the Third Nuclear Power Plant is being held before the proper safety assessment procedures are completed that would allow citizens to fully understand the information about the risks and costs. Such a referendum simply cannot confirm how much risk the people are willing to bear to restart the plant. Therefore, I will go to vote on August 23, and I hope we will all vote “No.”
