Opposition demands halt to plan

Taiwan's main opposition party weighed in on the fight over a controversial plan to process the island's nuclear waste overseas yesterday, calling for an immediate halt to the proposal.

Environmental activists say that the plan by state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) to ship the waste abroad runs the risk of a nuclear accident and an international backlash from campaign groups.

Now the major opposition Democratic Progressive Party has also pledged to shoot down the plan, accusing Taipower of a lack of transparency.

It comes as the government faces increasing pressure over its nuclear energy policy.

Taipower launched the bidding process for firms to transport and reprocess 1,200 spent fuel rods from two of the island's nuclear plants just before the Lunar New Year holidays -- a tactic opponents said was to evade media and public attention.

It also launched it before the budget was fully approved, the DPP said.

"The whole bidding process was not transparent," DPP legislator Tien Chiu-chin told AFP, warning that it could become a "money pit" and result in international disputes both environmentally and financially.

Tien added that the DPP would "do everything" to block the budget for the Tw$11.25 billion project, which still needs to be passed in parliament.