Investigations into allegations that an Italian businessman helped North Korea to dump radioactive nuclear waste in the ocean near Taiwan have been inconclusive, the Atomic Energy Council said on Friday.
Italian media cited declassified documents from an Italian intelligence service as saying that Giorgio Comerio, who is suspected of trafficking nuclear materials, allegedly disposed of 200,000 barrels of North Korean radioactive waste in the ocean near Taiwan in the 1990s and was paid US$227 million.
Council Vice Minister Chiou Syh-tsong (邱賜聰) said that the reports could not be confirmed and could be a mistake on the part of the Italian intelligence service, as state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) in the 1990s planned to ship 200,000 barrels of radioactive waste to North Korea.
However, Chiu said the possibility that the barrels were dumped near Taiwan could not be ruled out and the council would continue to push for radiation monitoring in the Taiwan Strait.
Based on the available information, “we could not rule out the possibility of dumping and will continue to monitor the Taiwan Strait,” Chiu said.
According to council data, radiation levels in waters near Keelung and Kaohsiung are normal.
Radiation tests of marine life offshore and in fish markets have also been normal, but the council does not have information on radiation levels in the Taiwan Strait, Chiu said.
However, the International Atomic Energy Agency has not detected abnormal levels of radiation in the Taiwan Strait, Chiu said.
Chiu said that the council has not seen the declassified documents from Italy, but personnel stationed overseas have continued to work on the matter.
He said that Taiwan has not sent any radioactive waste overseas and all waste is stored on Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) or within the nation’s three operational nuclear power plants.
A civic group accused the council of trying to hoodwink the public.
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
As Taiwan celebrated its baseball team’s victory in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12 on Sunday, how politicians referred to the team in their congratulatory messages reflected the nation’s political divide. Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei (中華台北隊), made history with its first-ever Premier12 championship after beating Japan 4-0 at the Tokyo Dome. Right after the game, President William Lai (賴清德) congratulated the team via a post on his Facebook page. Besides the players, Lai also lauded the team’s coaching and medical staff, and the fans cheering for them in Tokyo or watching the live broadcast, saying that “every
RSS