While pushing for the review of a draft act for a nuclear-free homeland, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday raised the possibility of a nation-wide referendum on the issue.
After a bipartisan agreement reached in June, the draft act for a nuclear-free homeland is to be listed as one of the priority acts in the current legislative session.
DPP Legislator Kao Jyh-peng (高志鵬), who is behind the referendum effort, said Article 16 of the Referendum Act (公民投票法) stipulates that “if the Legislative Yuan deems it necessary to carry out a referendum on a matter as prescribed in Subparagraph 3 of Paragraph Two of Article 2, it may hand the main text and the statement of reasons, after they are adopted in the meeting of the Legislative Yuan, to the Central Election Commission to implement the referendum.”
The World Nuclear Association (WNA) listed the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant — which is still under construction — as one of the 14 most dangerous nuclear power plants worldwide, Kao said.
Taiwan is not starved for electricity and yet it has the highest concentration of nuclear power plants in the world, he said.
According to WNA statistics, nuclear power supplies a quarter of base-load power and 17 percent of total output nationwide, though it takes up only 11 percent of all gigawatt-electrical (GWe) installed capacity.
Citing 2008 production figures as an example, the WNA said coal-fired plants comprised 26 percent of the capacity and 38 percent of the total power, which means that out of the 238 billion kilowatt- hours (kWh) produced that year, nuclear power plants accounted for 40.8kWh in gross figures of power production.
At peak usage, electricity reserves were still at 32 percent, and reserves from off-peak hours were about 50 percent, Kao said.
As such, even if the first, second and third nuclear power plants were to stop operations, there would be enough electricity for use nationwide.
There is no need to continue using aging nuclear power plans, to say nothing of the fourth plant, which is a slap-dash job, Kao said.
He also said that the total investment originally earmarked for the fourth plant stood at about NT$169 million (US$5.7 million), but after numerous additions to the budget, it was now close to NT$300 million.
The fourth plant is a black hole into which the government has been pouring money and construction should cease, Kao said.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires
Many Chinese spouses required to submit proof of having renounced their Chinese household registration have either completed the process or provided affidavits ahead of the June 30 deadline, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. Of the 12,146 people required to submit the proof, 5,534 had done so as of Wednesday, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. Another 2,572 people who met conditions for exemption or deferral from submitting proof of deregistration — such as those with serious illnesses or injuries — have submitted affidavits instead, he said. “As long as individuals are willing to cooperate with the legal
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
The Ministry of Environment yesterday held a seminar in Taipei for experts from Taiwan and Japan to exchange their experiences on the designs and development of public toilets. Japan Toilet Association chairman Kohei Yamamoto said that he was impressed with the eco-toilet set up at Daan Forest Park, adding that Japan still faces issues regarding public restrooms despite the progress it made over the past decades. For example, an all-gender toilet was set up in Kabukicho in Tokyo’s Shinjuku District several years ago, but it caused a public backlash and was rebuilt into traditional men’s and women’s toilets, he said. Japan Toilet Association
RSS