Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) chairman Hwang Jung-chiou (黃重球) yesterday said the company plans to submit its proposal for the last additional budget allocation for finishing the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant — the Longmen Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Gongliao District (貢寮) — to the Legislative Yuan in June.
At Taipower’s group offering event for the arrival of the Lunar New Year yesterday, Hwang responded to media questions about the controversial issue of seeking extra funds for the ongoing construction project in the next legislative session.
He said the power plant is in its final stage of construction and has begun pre-operational tests already, and the specific additional budget and construction schedule are expected to be finalized by June.
Responding to a question about how much the estimated supplementary budget will be, Hwang said: “We have not made a final decision yet.”
Taipower has greatly improved its management of nuclear power operations and controls in the past couple of years, and will make certain that the plant is safe, he said, adding that the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) safeguards the plants’ nuclear safety, so Taipower will only move forward after gaining consent from specialists in Taiwan and overseas.
Hwang also responded to last week’s media reports about an AEC official that said that Taipower has continuously postponed the submission date of a requested report on the possible safety threats to the two current operating nuclear plants in northern Taiwan in the event of a massive earthquake.
He said Taipower has already asked geologists to look into the issue and make evaluations of the possible effects, and that the company would deal with the issue very cautiously.
In addition, Taipower will continue to improve the company’s results this year, he said, adding that it hopes the increase in electricity prices can help solve the problem of financial losses caused by the increased cost of fuel last year.
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
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