TAIWAN REPLACES ATOMIC ENERGY CHAIRMAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L AIT TAIPEI 001121 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR NP/NE ALEX BURKART E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2012 TAGS: ECON ENRG KNNP TW SUBJECT: TAIWAN REPLACES ATOMIC ENERGY CHAIRMAN Classified By: Economic Section Chief DANIEL K MOORE FOR REASONS 1.4 B/ D ¶1. (SBU) News sources reported the sudden replacement of Atomic Energy Council (AEC) Minister Ouyang Min-shen on May ¶17. His position will be filled by Deputy Minister Su Shian-Jang. Su has a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and was Director of the Department of Radiation Protection at AEC before becoming a Deputy Minister in 2004. The decision came as a surprise to the staff of AEC who had not received any indication of the change until the announcement. AIT contacts at AEC would not speculate on the reasons for the sudden change, only indicating that political considerations relating to the latest cabinet shuffle most likely had a role. ¶2. (C) GE Nuclear Power engineer Robert Huang, who is part of the GE team working on the Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant project, told us on May 18 that Su was a classmate of Huang's at college. He said Su's professional career has focused on dealing with radiation waste. Huang expects Su to be fair and impartial. YOUNG