A group of activists staged a skit in front of the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) building yesterday, saying state-run Taiwan Power Co's (Taipower, 台電公司) plan to expand the number of coal-fired power plants nationwide would increase the nation's carbon dioxide emissions.
A performer, playing the role of an EPA official, promised a man wearing a President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) mask that he would be able to handle the environmentalists if the government allowed Taipower to continue with its plan.
The activists said Taipower plans to add 15 new coal-fired power plants by 2025, which are expected to generate additional electricity generating capacity of 10.8 million kilowatts and in turn boost carbon dioxide emissions by 60 million tonnes.
They said that Taipower had proposed curbing emissions by adding three new nuclear power stations to its existing three in line with the Ma administration's plan to invest more resources in nuclear power.
While the recently passed Renewable Energy Act (再生能源條例) states that renewable energy infrastructure should generate an additional 6.5 million to 10 million in electricity over the next 20 years, activists said Taipower did not take this into consideration when drafting plans for new facilities.
The skit was targeted at an EPA meeting yesterday, with the agency inviting researchers to review Taipower's proposal.
Former Democratic Progressive Party legislator Wang To-fa (王塗發), now a professor at National Taipei University, asked at the meeting whether the company was overly optimistic in its estimates of economic growth and the nation's energy needs when it drew up its expansion plan.
The suggestions made by the researchers will be forwarded to the EPA's Environment Impact Assessment Committee for deliberation.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
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