President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday met representatives of Mom Loves Taiwan, an association of mothers against nuclear power, at the Presidential Office for a hearing on nuclear safety.
The association was founded by several female public figures and celebrities, including Fubon Cultural and Educational Foundation board director Irene Chen (陳藹玲). Representatives who attended the meeting included Taiwan Foundation for Rare Disorders chairperson Serena Chen (陳莉茵), Taipei Parents’ Association member Chang Yu-huei (常玉慧) and others, as well specialists.
When the association was established earlier this year, it said its main goals were to make Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) disclose all the facts about safety at nuclear power plants, become a platform for civic discussion, demand all dangerous nuclear plants stop operation, stop the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant and review and discuss new energy policies.
Photo: CNA
The Presidential Office said on Friday that before the national anti-nuclear protest on March 9, the office had already noticed that the public was concerned about nuclear safety and began making contact with civic groups, hoping to communicate with them.
Before the meeting, Irene Chen said the association would present four requests, including information disclosure, comprehensive re-evaluation of all nuclear power plants, new energy policies and that the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant issue not be decided by referendum.
Irene Chen said the association is not an anti-nuclear group, but aims to monitor, question and disseminate correct information on nuclear safety so people can make informed decisions. However, she said the safety of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant is a big concern.
Ma said the government’s nuclear power policy is to “ensure nuclear safety, steadily reduce [the use of] nuclear power, create a green low carbon environment and gradually achieve a nuclear-free homeland.”
However, the goal must be achieved without power rationing, while maintaining reasonable electricity rates and abiding by international commitments on carbon reduction, he said.
As to the disposal of nuclear waste, Atomic Energy Council (AEC) Minister Tsai Chuen-horng (蔡春鴻) said there are about 80 low-radiation final disposal sites in the world, so the technology to achieve it should not be a problem, and spent fuel pools or deep underground storage for highly radioactive fuel rods are being planned.
Responding to concerns about the high population density in Greater Taipei near three nuclear power plants, as mentioned in the journal Nature in 2011, Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) said it was a misunderstanding and the article highlighted the culture of safety and safety procedures rather than the density of the nearby population.
National Tsing Hua University nuclear engineering professor Yu Ge-ping (喻冀平) said nuclear power plants around the world are located within 75km of high population areas because the power demands are higher in these areas, and population density in these areas is not directly connected to nuclear safety.
However, several representatives were not satisfied with those answers and said the threat posed by radiation to people in a 20km range is different than posed to people within 75km, and “we care about the people [in this area].”
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS