Taiwan and the US have recently signed an arrangement to enhance bilateral cooperation on the regulation of the safety and environmental impacts of nuclear facilities in several areas, including sharing information and training safety personnel.
The text of the arrangement for the exchange of technical information and cooperation in nuclear regulatory and safety matters obtained by the Taipei Times showed that the scope of bilateral cooperation included technical information exchange, cooperation in confirmatory nuclear safety research, training and assignments, and technical advice.
It was signed on Jan. 4 by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the US and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) in coordination with their respective designated representatives, the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) of Taiwan and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of the US.
Information is to be shared in areas such as the regulation of safety, safeguards (materials accountancy and control and physical protection), waste management, radiation protection (environmental monitoring, personal dose evaluation, calibration, proficiency testing), nuclear security, emergency preparedness and the environmental impact of designated nuclear facilities.
Under the arrangements, the AEC and NRC can also share information on nuclear safety research programs, including topical reports on related issues written by each side and documents relating to significant licensing actions and safety and environmental decisions affecting nuclear facilities, among others.
Also included is the early provision of information about important events, such as serious operating incidents and ordered reactor shutdowns that are of immediate interest to the AEC and the NRC and copies of regulatory standards, or by the two agencies.
Taipei and Washington agreed to cooperate in the provision of certain training and experiences for safety personnel from the AEC and the NRC.
The US and Taiwan agreed to exchange information covered by the arrangement through letters, reports and other documents, and by visits and meetings arranged in advance or on a case-by-case basis and to hold a meeting annually, or at such other times as mutually agreed, to review its implementation.
David Yao (饒大衛), director of the AEC’s Department of Planning, was quoted in a report by the US-based wire agency Bureau of National Affairs as saying that the arrangement would be an ideal platform for Taiwan to acquire more information about the emergency at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.
When contacted, AIT spokeswoman Sheila Paskman declined to comment, saying that the US had signed similar arrangements with many other countries to enhance cooperation on nuclear safety.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
RSS