The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has not ruled out closing the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Shihmen District (石門) — the country’s first nuclear power plant — sooner than scheduled, providing that the fourth nuclear power plant functions stably when it comes on stream, Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) said yesterday.
The government would prefer not to extend the life of the three nuclear power plants that are currently in operation, Shih said in a presentation to the legislature’s Economics Committee.
However, construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao District (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市) — also known as the Longmen Nuclear Power Plant — which began in 1999, would continue, he said.
If it comes online in time, the reactors of the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant could be shut down sooner than the dates scheduled in 2018 and 2019, he added.
“Safety is the basic consideration. We are confident that the No. 4 plant will begin operations as scheduled,” he said in response to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ting Shou-chung’s (丁守中) question on whether Shih was certain of the date the new plant would start production.
Meanwhile, the MOEA has withdrawn an application that was submitted to the Atomic Energy Council to extend the life of the Jinshan plant, Shih said.
The question of when the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里), also known as the second nuclear power plant, would be retired depended on the overall power supply situation in the country, he said. It must be ensured that there would be no power shortages (when the plant was shut down), he added.
He also said that Taiwan had no timetable for achieving a nuclear-free environment. Nuclear power policies should be made on the basis that there would be no power rationing, that electricity rates would be reasonable and that global demands to reduce carbon emissions would be met, he said.
Whether to proceed with construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant has become an issue since a nuclear disaster occurred at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan in March as a result of a devastating earthquake and tsunami.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
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
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
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
RSS