The coastal erosion at Fulong Beach in northern Taiwan can be attributed to the construction of a nearby wharf, designed to accommodate heavy machines on their way to the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Kungliao, Taipei County, according to a Cabinet's task force investigating the case.
Yang Chao-yueh (
"We will hand in the conclusions to Premier Yu Shyi-kun, via a committee in charge of the case, to showing why it is urgent to halt the construction," Yang said at a press conference held at the Legislative Yuan yesterday.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMESN
The committee is composed of officials from Cabinet-level agencies, academics and environmental groups.
"Based on the conclusions, we would strongly suggest that the premier halt the construction," said committee member Shih Shin-min (施信民) of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (台灣環保聯盟).
It is expected that the premier will respond to the committee's suggestions in mid-February.
The investigation was prompted by an urgent demand from environmental and conservation groups in mid-January. At the time, Yu promised to decide the wharf's future within one month, once the relationship between the erosion and the construction of the wharf was determined.
Local residents claimed that two thirds of the sand on the beach has disappeared since 1999, when the construction was launched.
Shih said the nuclear plant project was designed more than a decade ago, at a time when the possible environmental impact of such a construction project was neglected.
In September 1991, the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) gave conditional approval to the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the nuclear power plant project.
When the EIA Act was put into effect at the end of 1994, environmentalists began highlighting what they said were questionable aspects of the assessment conducted by the AEC and called for a new, comprehensive evaluation to be conducted by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA).
In response to that request, the EPA established a committee to monitor environmental conditions near the construction site -- but did not order a new environmental impact assessment.
"The loss of sand is just one example demonstrating the poor design of the project and the government's carelessness," Shih said.
DPP Legislator Eugene Jao (
DPP lawmakers Lai Chin-lin (
The lawmakers said that erosion -related problems near many wharves in Taiwan could be attributed to a "jetty effect," which depletes sand on nearby beaches.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS