Proponents of nuclear power on Saturday initiated a referendum petition drive seeking to abolish the “nuclear-free homeland by 2025” policy stipulated in the Electricity Act (電業法).
“The petition asks respondents: ‘Do you agree to abolish Article 95-1 of the act that stipulates all nuclear power facilities should cease operations before 2025?’” National Tsing Hua University engineering professor and Chung-Hwa Nuclear Society member Lee Min (李敏) wrote on Facebook.
The nation should continue using nuclear power to support its fledgling development of “green” energy, the petition said.
The government, with its goal of generating half the nation’s electricity from natural gas, 30 percent from coal-fired power and 20 percent from renewable sources by 2025, is rushing to natural gas terminals as well as solar and wind power facilities, but it ignores the financial and environmental costs of the hasty policy, Lee said yesterday by telephone.
The Cabinet has said it plans to restart the No. 2 reactor at the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里), because it expects a shortage in the nation’s power supplies in June and July, he said.
The public should consider whether the nation should continue using nuclear energy, he said, adding that the decision whether to keep nuclear power plants would be decided after careful evaluation.
Nuclear power can be regarded as a kind of “green” energy, as it has less environmental impact and lower generation costs than coal and gas-fired power, Chinese Society of Medical Physics member and Kyoto University doctoral student Liao Yan-peng (廖彥朋), who launched the petition, said separately yesterday.
Many environmental groups expound on the risks of nuclear power, but they seldom address the casualties caused by accidents at natural gas facilities, Liao said, urging people to discuss nuclear issues with more scientific evidence.
Lee said he initiated the petition with like-minded academics and people working in the energy sector, but added that its discourse is open to change.
While their proposal for a referendum needs to obtain the approval of the Central Election Commission, they hope it can take place along with the local elections on Nov. 24, Lee said.
In related news, Taiwan Power Co is preparing for an environmental impact assessment to decommission the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Shihmen District (石門), with the operation licenses of its two reactors due to expire on Dec. 5 this year and July 15 next year.
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
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
RSS