Opposition politicians in Taiwan yesterday demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister, Mr Chang Chun-hsiung, following his decision to halt the construction of Taiwan's fourth nuclear power plant.
During a special two-day session of parliament to discuss the controversy Mr Chang listed nine reasons, including Taiwan's inability to handle nuclear waste or to deal with a potential disaster.
The embattled leader denied that his decision was "unconstitutional", and argued it made the island a safer place. He did not accept that it would lead to power shortages.
However, angry opposition deputies, who demanded Mr Chang's resignation, accused him of contempt and threatened to recess indefinitely. This would drag out the political crisis that has rocked the stock market and unnerved investors.
The legislative chief whip of the main opposition Nationalist Party, Mr Cheng Yung-chin, called on Mr Chang to voluntarily step down. "We do not rule out the possibility of recessing indefinitely," he said.
Rejecting the calls, Mr Chang said any parliament vote to overturn his decision would not be legally binding.
"Construction of nuclear power plants in Taiwan is neither an economic nor an ideological issue, but an issue of life and survival of the 23 million people and an issue concerning the future welfare of all", he added. Mr Chang said his departure would not help resolve the dispute over the $5.5 billion project, which is already one-third complete.
Yesterday's parliamentary debate came after the Council of Grand Justices this month censured Mr Chang for not consulting legislators on his decision to halt construction of the project.
The island's senior judges said Mr Chang's decision was "flawed" but stopped short of declaring it unconstitutional. They ruled that the legislature could, as an alternative, pass a bill forcing the cabinet to resume construction of the 2,700megawatt project.
Mr Chang pledged to make Taiwan a safer place by scrapping the island's other three nuclear plants and showed the legislature a portrait of a deformed child, a victim of a nuclear accident.
He added that the move would not cause any power shortages because the government has plans for alternative power projects. He said that as of the end of 2000 losses incurred from the decision to scrap the project totalled $2.7 billion, much lower than the cost of continuing construction.
The business community in Taiwan mostly favours building the plant, fearing future electricity shortages. But environmentalists say Taiwan cannot process nuclear waste or deal with potential accidents.