Premier Yu Shyi-kun apologized to members of the Tao tribe on Orchid Island for things the government has done there in the past and promised that the government would do its utmost to eventually move nuclear waste off of the island.
Yu made the comments while on an inspection tour of the island yesterday.
PHOTO: CHANG TSUN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
Yu first visited the scenic island's only kindergarten -- Lan Eng -- where he donated NT$1 million (US$28,571) in cash to the preschooler educational center on behalf of President Chen Shui-bian (
In return, the kindergarten gave Yu two loin cloths -- one for him and another for Chen.
Yu then went to Langtao Bay (
Later in the day, Yu attended the opening of an annual Orchid Island athletic meet and watched Tao tribal dance performances and special folk sports competitions, including canoeing.
In a gesture to welcome Yu, the young tribesmen practiced a traditional ceremony in which they throw the boat above their heads several times to show their hospitality.
In the afternoon, Yu inspected the controversial nuclear waste dump where 97,000 barrels of low-radiation nuclear waste from Taiwan's three nuclear power plants has been stored since 1982.
For years, Tao tribesmen have been pushing state-owned Taiwan Power Co (Taipower,
Yu held face-to-face talks with members of a Tao anti-nuclear association. Yu said he fully understands Tao tribesmen's feelings about the continuing presence of the nuclear waste.
"I feel sorry for what the government did to [the residents of] Orchid Island in the past. I apologize for that, and will try my best to move the site away," Yu said.
Also yesterday, the tribe listed Vice President Annette Lu (
Si-Jalalan (
According to Si-Jalalan, Lu, during a visit to Orchid Island some time ago, claimed that the nuclear waste stored on the island was safe and criticized the island's residents for "stirring up trouble" by pressing the government to remove the waste from the island.
Lu has even offered to sit at the site of the nuclear-waste landfill for a day to prove the safety of the site, Si-Jalalan said. He urged Lu not to use the island for a political show and instead pay more attention to the rights of the island's residents.
Also See Story:
Editorial: Environmental ignorance soiling Taiwan
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and