Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

National Taiwan University professor Kao Cheng-yan, right, speaks at a forum on the deregulation of the energy industry yesterday.

The liberalization of the energy industry is a likely solution to the nation’s current disputes over nuclear energy, the root cause of which lies in the sector’s monopolization by state-owned Taiwan Power Co (Taipower), academics said yesterday.

The administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is insisting on raising electricity prices and ensuring the commercial operation of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Gongliao District (貢寮) “to make up for Taipower’s losses,” National Taipei University economics professor Wang To-far (王塗發) told a seminar.

A touch of despondency seems to be lingering in the air among some Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members. A recent conference in Washington D. C. brought unwelcome news as congressional staffers indicated that Taiwan was falling off the radar of US interest in Asia. Frank Hsieh, former DPP premier and failed presidential candidate (2012) boldly challenged the party to reexamine its "failed" China policy. In a speech to academics at John Hopkins University, Hsieh floated his strange "two constitutions" with different interpretations as a basis of "cross-strait engagement." He intimated that the party needed to change its position vis-a-vis China if it expects to win any future presidential elections. Negativity seemed to reign, but should it? I contend that if one really looks at what has been happening at ground level, it is China that must learn to accept and to deal with the DPP and not vice versa.