The Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (TEPU) and academics yesterday urged the public to sign a petition aimed at stopping Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) from installing fuel rods in the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮).
Members of the group, along with Academia Sinica’s Institute of Sociology chairman Michael Hsiao (蕭新煌), National Chengchi University sociology professor Ku Chung-hwa (顧忠華), and award-winning screenwriter and author Neil Peng (馮光遠), said they “refuse to allow the government to install fuel rods [into the new plant] without first obtaining public approval.”
TEPU founding chairperson and anti-nuclear activist Shih Hsin-min (施信民) said the group had initiated the petition for a national referendum, which would ask the public: “Do you agree that Taipower should insert fuel rods into the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City for test runs?” to counter a referendum proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) last year.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
The petition has gathered more than 50,000 signatures, but it needs at least 100,000 to pass the first threshold and more than 1 million to pass the second stage for the referendum to be held, he said.
Once fuel rods are inserted into the reactor, the plant bears the risk of a radioactive leak, Shih said.
“Taiwanese should have the right to make the final decision on whether the plant is allowed to operate,” Shih said.
Peng suggested drawing up a list of pro-nuclear groups and public figures — including government officials and legislators — and make sure that these people are “banned from leaving Taiwan” if a nuclear accident ever occurs.
Kao Cheng-yan (高成炎), a National Taiwan University professor and TEPU’s anti-nuclear team convener, said recent problems with the new household registration system had affected many people, but it would be a greater disaster if fuel rods were installed in the new nuclear plant, as it might lead to a nuclear meltdown.
There is “no chance of turning back” once the fuel rods are inserted, they said.
Furthermore, decommissioning the nuclear plant will also entail a huge sum of money to properly handle the radioactive plant, they said.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent