New Power Party Legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) and a coalition of environmental groups yesterday said that a referendum proposal opposing the government’s policy to phase out nuclear power by 2025 is unrealistic, given the lack of technologies and facilities for managing radioactive waste.
The referendum proposal received a boost on Friday last week, when former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) endorsed it and handed out petitions at Taipei Railway Station.
Ma said he supports using nuclear energy before it can be replaced by cleaner energy, adding that nuclear energy is a form of “green energy” and that managing radioactive waste is “not difficult.”
Anti-nuclear groups yesterday accused Ma of spreading incorrect information about nuclear energy and urged people to not support the referendum.
“Former president Ma should stop talking nonsense. His remarks that nuclear energy is a form of green energy and that radioactive waste management is not difficult are ridiculous,” Hsu told a news conference in Taipei.
There are no permanent storage facilities for radioactive waste, most of which is still stored in dry casks at the Guosheng and Jinshan nuclear power plants in New Taipei City, he said.
Ma should try and understand problems caused by radioactive waste and “stop spreading misleading information,” he added.
Around the world, there has not been a single successful depository for the permanent storage of high-level radioactive waste, Taiwan Environmental Protection Union chairman Liu Jyh-jian (劉志堅) said.
Even in the US, where there is plenty of land, spent fuel rods are stored at temporary facilities, he added.
“The government has no plans for the final disposal of radioactive waste, and transporting it to another country can be expensive and equally as difficult,” he said.
Ma’s remarks suggest that he is unaware of the costs and risks associated with nuclear energy, he added.
“Ma’s comment that managing radioactive waste is not difficult is an international joke,” Green Citizens’ Action Alliance secretary-general Tsuei Su-hsin (崔愫欣) said.
While certain nuclear energy advocates have cited recycling nuclear fuel rods as a solution, the process is not cost-effective, she said, adding that it is not a new technology and many nations have given up on it because of the high cost.
Ma should stop making irresponsible comments and realize that he partly caused the problem by failing to properly handle the issue during his presidency, Tsuei said.
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
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
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
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS