An anti-nuclear activist set himself on fire on January 28, 2001, to protest against the construction of the country's fourth nuclear power plant. The incident took place in front of Taiwan's parliament, which was scheduled to debate on the fate of the project the following day.

The us $5.5 billion project, one-third of which is complete, was scrapped by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party. This decision enraged the opposition parties who felt that the move was unconstitutional as it unilaterally reversed a decision made by the previous government. Taiwan's strong business lobby