The Ketagalan of Taiwan Indigenous Culture Alliance yesterday accused government officials of overlooking the destruction of valuable artifacts used by Taiwanese Aborigines 4,500 years ago in order to construct access roads to the Lungmen nuclear power plant.
Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇), paleontologists and descendants of Aborigines yesterday told a press conference that they found the Ministry of Economic Affairs' (MOEA) refusal to halt construction of the nuclear power plant’s access roads unacceptable.
The Lungmen nuclear power plant, also known as the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, is currently being constructed in Taipei County’s Gungliao Township (貢寮).
Lin Sheng-yi (林勝義), executive director of the alliance, held up a part of what is believed to be a crucible used by ancestors of the Pingpu Tribe (平埔族) that was found at the power plant construction site and said that carbon dating has shown it to be from the year 2440 BC.
“Scholars from the Academia Sinica and the National Science Council all denied its [the artifact's] value,” Lin said.
Lin wasn’t discouraged and sent a sample to the Beta Analytic Radio Carbon Dating Laboratory in Miami, Florida, which informed him that test results indicated that the sample was from 2440 BC.
“The adhesive used in these artifacts is proof that the articles are manmade, and not naturally occurring,” he said.
Taiwan Paleo-Civilization Research Center's Ho Hsien-jung (何顯榮) also recognized geometric characters that are believed to be early forms of writing found on rocks dug up from the area surrounding the nuclear power plant.
“These artifacts are like tape recordings that our ancestors left us,” Tien said. “Our ancestry comes not only from Emperor Qin Shi Huang, but many other different cultures as well. About a quarter of all Taiwanese have Pingpu blood in their veins.”
Their petitions to halt construction of certain areas near the plant have gone unanswered.
“[Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-hsiang 施顏祥] has vowed to halt construction if the location is indeed an archaeological site. We hope he will keep his word,” Tien said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
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
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
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