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.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
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