Taiwan N-plant: Man sets himself ablaze

Mr Huang is doused with water after setting himself alight

An anti-nuclear protester has set himself on fire outside the Taiwanese parliament, just hours after MPs decided to hold a special session on nuclear power.

The man had earlier given a protest letter to television crews in which he reportedly urged parliament not to support the construction of a fourth nuclear plant in Taiwan.

The protester, identified as 50-year-old Huang Ting-fang, is now stable in hospital. He did not suffer serious burns, as bystanders doused the flames with bottled water and a small fire extinguisher.

There has been a bitter political dispute over nuclear power in Taiwan since the government of President Chen Shui-bian decided in October to scrap the plant, even though it was already under construction.

Activists

Dozens of environmental activists have been staging a sit-in outside parliament.

Police said Mr Huang dashed towards the protest group at 1430 (0630 GMT), doused petrol on himself and set himself on fire.

Taiwan's fourth nuclear power plant is about one-third built

In his letter, the protester said the plant would harm future generations "for a thousand years". He warned that Taiwan would have the same nuclear accidents as those in Japan, the former Soviet Union and the United States.

The leader of the protest group outside parliament, Cheng Hsien-you, expressed surprise at the man's protest. "I don't know why this happened," he said.

The Prime Minister, Chang Chun-hsiung, is due to tell parliament why he scrapped the $5.6bn nuclear project.

Legal ruling

Taiwan's highest legal body, the 15 Grand Justices, ruled on 15 January that Mr Chang's procedure was flawed as he had failed to seek prior approval from parliament to scrap the project.

The opposition Kuomintang (KMT), which holds 115 seats in the 221-seat assembly, says scrapping the 2,700-megawatt plant is illegal, may lead to power shortages, and is undermining business confidence.

The decision to cancel the plant - Taiwan's fourth - means the government will have to pay almost $3bn in compensation.