As part of ongoing opposition to the government’s nuclear policy Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday launched a petition in Taipei for a nuclear referendum to decide whether fuel rods should be inserted into the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Gongliao District (貢寮).
Lu, joined by several Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors, said the Taipei City Council passed a regulation on civil referendums in Taipei, and she expected to collect 15,000 signatures in the city for her proposed referendum to be approved.
A similar referendum she proposed in New Taipei City was rejected by the Executive Yuan’s Referendum Review Committee last month, which said the issue “concerns energy policy affecting the nation’s electricity supply, power reserves, industrial sectors, environment and other important matters” and is “an important national policy matter not suitable for a local referendum.”
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
She slammed the Executive Yuan yesterday over the rejection, and said she will file an administrative lawsuit against the committee or request a constitutional interpretation.
In launching the petition for a proposed nuclear referendum in Taipei City, the former vice president said that residents living within the evacuation zone of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, including Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung City and Yilan County, should have the right to determine whether they want to face threats of a possible failure at the plant.
“President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) failed to mention the nuclear waste issue during his nuclear trip and he did not talk about the fact that Taiwan is in a seismic zone. His remarks are meant to mislead the public,” she said at the Taipei City Council.
She said the Ma administration should stop attempting to coerce the public into approving construction of the Fourth nuclear Power Plant, and urged the government to speed up the development of solar power and other alternative energy sources.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
RSS