The Homemakers United Foundation yesterday urged the government to enforce stricter radiation inspections on imported food.
The group issued the call following the confirmation by Tokyo Electric Power Co, operator of Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, that 300 tonnes of radiation-contaminated water from a steel tank had leaked into groundwater and possibly into the sea.
Foundation president Chen Man-li (陳曼麗) said radiation leakage from Fukushima has contaminated the seawater and nearby soil, and while many Taiwanese like to eat seafood, the government has not taken any precautions against the importation of possible contaminated food from Japan.
Photo: CNA
“It’s been two years since the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster, but the total number of samples [of food products imported from Japan tested for radiation levels] is only 40,000, while Hong Kong’s authorities have already tested more than 150,000 samples,” she said, adding that both South Korea and Hong Kong immediately release their reports on contaminated food to the public.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) said that government statistics showed that the number of food samples tested during a week in Taiwan (202 from Aug. 19 to Aug. 25 this year) is fewer than the number tested during one day in Hong Kong (299 between 12am Aug. 19 and 12am on Aug. 20), and that the permitted level in Taiwan was even raised last year.
Chiang Shou-shan (江守山), a nephrologist at Shin-Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, suggested that the public avoid eating migrating fishes, such as tuna, flounder and greenling, because they may have higher levels of radiation accumulated in their bodies.
Although some forms of radiation can be blocked by wearing an aluminum or radiation protection suit, our stomachs remain unprotected, he said, adding that radioactive substances in food may continue to damage the body for a long time after consumption.
Meanwhile, in related developments, the DPP, noting the state-run Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower) refusal to arrange former Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan’s visit to the No. 1 reactor at the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in Wanli District (萬里), New Taipei City (新北市), because of Kan’s anti-nuclear position, said yesterday that Taipower seemed to be implying that only those who supported nuclear energy would be welcome to visit power plants.
“The refusal highlighted Taipower’s pro-nuclear position and its violation of diplomatic protocol,” DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said.
The President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) administration and Taipower have both violated Article 23 of the Basic Environment Act (環境基本法), which stipulates that the government must make plans to gradually achieve the goal of becoming a nuclear-free country, Lin said.
Kan is slated to visit Taiwan from Sept. 12 to Sept. 15 for a series of events to express his opposition to nuclear power.
Additional reporting by Chris Wang and CNA
‘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
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS