A second-phase safety review of the nation’s three operating nuclear power plants is likely to be completed early next month, the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) said yesterday.
As soon as it is completed, a final report will be submitted to the Cabinet, AEC Deputy Minister Chou Yuan-ching (周源卿) told a public hearing held by legislators, adding that the AEC would continue to follow up on the safety status of the plants on a regular basis.
He said the three nuclear power plants have undergone stress tests based on EU standards, a report which is expected to be published within a couple of months.
Stress tests are also to be conducted at the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市), which is still under construction, he said. The plant will not obtain a license to install nuclear fuel rods until it meets all 19 requirements set by the AEC, he added.
The hearing was held ahead of the first anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan that led to a meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, sparking global concern over nuclear safety.
To mark the anniversary, environmental groups in Taiwan are set to hold a march in Taipei on March 11 to voice their opposition to nuclear power.
As a warm-up to the event, the groups staged demonstrations at entrances to the Executive Yuan, the Control Yuan and the legislature yesterday, demanding that the government abandon nuclear power immediately.
Among the protesters was Kao Cheng-yan (高成炎), a professor at National Taiwan University’s Graduate Institute of Biomedical Electronics and Bioinformatics.
Kao speculated that at least 1 million people would lose their lives in the event of an accident at the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in Shihmen District (石門), New Taipei City (新北市), or the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in Wanli (萬里), New Taipei City, both of which are a little more than 20km from Taipei.
‘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
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
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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
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