Taiwan, which relies heavily on fossil fuels, is an ideal place for the promotion of renewable energy because of its abundant resources, and Germany's experience might be useful, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said yesterday.
The symposium entitled "Energy for the Future" was held yesterday in Taipei with both Taiwanese and German experts taking part.
Before giving a speech at the opening ceremony, Lu took a ride in a German-designed zero-emission vehicle powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Fuel cells have been used on spacecraft for many years to power electrical equipment.
In her speech, Lu said that government and business, should work to make such low-emission vehicles available to the public as soon as possible.
"Most of you must have been surprised by the performance of fuel cell or solar energy displayed outside the conference room," Lu said during her speech. "Such application of energy technologies in the sector of transportation will not only mitigate air pollution, but also lift the dependence on imported oil."
Lu also said that environmentally-friendly industries will receive priority from the government in development funding. To promote environmentally-friendly technology, abundant financial support will be available for carrying out a well-designed scheme and integrating government agencies, business and research organizations.
Lu said that Taiwan, which imports more than 97 percent of its energy needs, faces challenges related to the high price of oil, and moves should be made to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.
"Taiwan fortunately is full of sunshine throughout the year. In addition, the sea, wind and geothermal energy makes the country an ideal place for the use of renewable energy."
In order to form legal bases for the promotion of renewable energy, several laws have been drafted, Lu said.
"The government aims to turn Taiwan into a nuclear-free country. Since 2003, NT$3 billion has been given yearly for renewable energy development. We hope to see applications in our daily life soon," Lu said.
Lu also said that Germany is a good example for Taiwan to emulate because it has used renewable energy for more two decades and its wind power capacity is the best in the world.
The vice president also said that Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Mei-yueh (何美玥), last year visited Germany to discuss environmental issues with German Economics and Labor Minister Wolfgang Clement.
"Both sides reached an agreement to work on future collaboration of energy-related issues, such as increasing energy efficiency and promoting renewable energy," Lu said.
Lu also said that Taiwan is eager to share responsibility for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and the Cabinet has set the stage for a "nuclear-free homeland" policy, which implies that nuclear energy would not be regarded as an alternative for emissions reduction.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
EARTHQUAKE: Taipei and New Taipei City accused a construction company of ignoring the Circular MRT’s original design, causing sections to shift by up to 92cm The Taipei and New Taipei City governments yesterday said they would seek NT$1.93 billion (US$58.6 million) in compensation from the company responsible for building the Circular MRT Line, following damage sustained during an earthquake in April last year that had shuttered a section for months. BES Engineering Corp, a listed company under Core Pacific Group, was accused of ignoring the original design when constructing the MRT line, resulting in negative shear strength resistance and causing sections of the rail line between Jhonghe (中和) and Banciao (板橋) districts to shift by up to 92cm during the April 3 earthquake. The pot bearings on
RSS