Driven by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus, the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee scheduled a review of the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act (核子反應器設施管制法) yesterday about the extension or decommissioning of nuclear power plants, sparking protests against nuclear power outside the venue.
Taiwanese still hold misconceptions regarding nuclear power, believing it to be clean, inexpensive, safe and stable. Dealing with the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster in Japan in 2011 resulted in sky-high costs. Aside from that, decommissioning one nuclear power plant reactor would cost NT$400 billion (US$12.3 billion). Adding this to the cost of generating nuclear power, it is not at all inexpensive, not to mention the issue of nuclear waste storage.
Additionally, generating electricity from nuclear energy requires a large amount of water for cooling. Over the past few years, the summer season has become increasingly hotter worldwide, forcing 70 percent of France’s nuclear power plants to reduce or even stop operations when heat waves strike. The Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) also had to reduce operations in June 2019, as sea water temperatures had risen too high.
Nuclear power is not only ineffective in solving electricity shortage problems during the summer, but might even make the problem worse.
Therefore, Taiwan must give up on nuclear power. It is a heat-intolerant, unstable and costly resource that also requires imported fuel rods. Taiwan has the best conditions and potential for developing sustainable resources and geothermal power. Industry professionals, officials and academics should come together to invest resources into developing a stable and fully autonomous sustainable energy source.
John Yu is a civil servant in Taipei.
Translated by Nicole Wong
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
It is being said every second day: The ongoing recall campaign in Taiwan — where citizens are trying to collect enough signatures to trigger re-elections for a number of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators — is orchestrated by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), or even President William Lai (賴清德) himself. The KMT makes the claim, and foreign media and analysts repeat it. However, they never show any proof — because there is not any. It is alarming how easily academics, journalists and experts toss around claims that amount to accusing a democratic government of conspiracy — without a shred of evidence. These
Taiwan is confronting escalating threats from its behemoth neighbor. Last month, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army conducted live-fire drills in the East China Sea, practicing blockades and precision strikes on simulated targets, while its escalating cyberattacks targeting government, financial and telecommunication systems threaten to disrupt Taiwan’s digital infrastructure. The mounting geopolitical pressure underscores Taiwan’s need to strengthen its defense capabilities to deter possible aggression and improve civilian preparedness. The consequences of inadequate preparation have been made all too clear by the tragic situation in Ukraine. Taiwan can build on its successful COVID-19 response, marked by effective planning and execution, to enhance
Since taking office, US President Donald Trump has upheld the core goals of “making America safer, stronger, and more prosperous,” fully implementing an “America first” policy. Countries have responded cautiously to the fresh style and rapid pace of the new Trump administration. The US has prioritized reindustrialization, building a stronger US role in the Indo-Pacific, and countering China’s malicious influence. This has created a high degree of alignment between the interests of Taiwan and the US in security, economics, technology and other spheres. Taiwan must properly understand the Trump administration’s intentions and coordinate, connect and correspond with US strategic goals.
RSS