Thermal discharge from the Third Nuclear Power Plant is behind the rapid destruction of Kenting National Park’s coral reef, a marine researcher said, warning that the reef’s disappearance would jeopardize the fishing industry and ecosystem.
Allan Chen (陳昭倫), a research fellow with Academia Sinica’s Research Center for Biodiversity, said the plant has accelerated the deterioration of coral by emitting thermal discharge that has driven seawater temperatures 1.5°C to 2°C higher over the past 26 years.
The number of varieties of coral has fallen from between 20 and 30 that existed 26 years ago to three today, Chen said.
Except for the sandy area off western Taiwan, coral can be found all around the nation and off Penghu, where the water temperature has shot up by 1.09°C in recent years. Coral reefs are considered the most important marine ecosystem for the fishing industry, tourism, culture, medicine and coastline protection, Chen said.
Chen’s research shows that Taiwan’s seawater temperature peaked between the 1970s and the 1980s, in line with global trends. In the last six decades, the average temperature of Taiwan’s seawater has risen 0.79°C, slightly higher than the 0.5°C experienced by other tropical sea regions in the world.
Scientists have warned that if global warming continues at its current pace, the world’s coral reefs will completely disintegrate by the end of the century.
Industrial waste, overfishing, pollution, ocean acidification and typhoons all contribute to the destruction and bleaching of coral reefs, the scientist said.
He said the live coral coverage rate in Kenting now was about 70 percent, roughly the same as in 1986, but that the rate could be a misleading indicator because coverage rate does not mean the live corals are fully functioning.
“It’s like tearing down a multifunctional high-rise building like Taipei 101 and replacing the area with one-story houses. You lose most of the original diversity and functionality,” he said.
In related news, a group of rare soft corals has been discovered off the coast of Rueifang Township (瑞芳), Taipei County.
Wang Min-hsian (王銘祥), who made the discovery, described the area as an underwater “crystal palace,” but he said he feared the coral would be destroyed if plans to build a wharf near the site proceed.
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
RSS