Nuclear realism needed
The question of whether nuclear power can be regarded as a renewable energy source has direct implications for decisionmaking in many countries and industries regarding green energy investment. The issue would impact governments’ apportioning of financial aid and tax relief for businesses and investors that invest in green energy. Whether a business can join the supply chain and remain competitive in the international community is a driving force for energy transformation. This issue has stirred up widespread discussion.
RE100, a global corporate renewable energy initiative bringing together more than 400 businesses, said nuclear power is not green. As a member of the organization, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) on Sept. 15 last year said that it would accelerate the adoption of renewable energy by 2040. Hon Hai Technology Group’s (鴻海) application for RE100 membership was approved on July 4. The corporation announced that it would achieve the goal of using 100 percent green energy by 2040. These announcements were made after careful consideration of commercial potential, cost, tax reduction and future prospects.
Deputy convener of the National Climate Change Response Committee, Pegatron Group chairman Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), recently cited the nuclear power policy changes of Italy and Finland to support his advocacy for extending and increasing the use of nuclear power as supplementary renewable energy source in the interim until other green resources can play a more important part of the nation’s energy mix.
However, Tung’s comments regarding nuclear fusion were confusing and impractical. In reality, based on population density, earthquake frequency, land area and the disposal of nuclear waste, Taiwan and the two European countries are poles apart. We cannot put our land and the public at risk while searching for a solution. Taiwan cannot afford the consequences of nuclear disaster, and nuclear fusion is far from a viable concept at present.
Recently, after Typhoon Gaemi hit the nation, the North-link Line and Taitung East-side Line of Taiwan Railway Corp and the Suhua Highway in the eastern part of Taiwan were severely damaged. The damage was also compounded by an earthquake. This is a good example of extreme weather events that Taiwan experiences.
What we should discuss is how to repair broken infrastructure as soon as possible and find solutions as precautions, not about the decommissioned and to-be-decommissioned nuclear power plants, or even building a new one.
Setting an unrealistic goal is not going to cut it with Taiwanese. If we just stick to our own ideology and ignore other possible solutions, that would be problematic.
We should look at the issue holistically and not continue with the risk of using nuclear power.
Tu Hsin-lung
Tainan
The return of US president-elect Donald Trump to the White House has injected a new wave of anxiety across the Taiwan Strait. For Taiwan, an island whose very survival depends on the delicate and strategic support from the US, Trump’s election victory raises a cascade of questions and fears about what lies ahead. His approach to international relations — grounded in transactional and unpredictable policies — poses unique risks to Taiwan’s stability, economic prosperity and geopolitical standing. Trump’s first term left a complicated legacy in the region. On the one hand, his administration ramped up arms sales to Taiwan and sanctioned
The Taiwanese have proven to be resilient in the face of disasters and they have resisted continuing attempts to subordinate Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Nonetheless, the Taiwanese can and should do more to become even more resilient and to be better prepared for resistance should the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) try to annex Taiwan. President William Lai (賴清德) argues that the Taiwanese should determine their own fate. This position continues the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) tradition of opposing the CCP’s annexation of Taiwan. Lai challenges the CCP’s narrative by stating that Taiwan is not subordinate to the
US president-elect Donald Trump is to return to the White House in January, but his second term would surely be different from the first. His Cabinet would not include former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and former US national security adviser John Bolton, both outspoken supporters of Taiwan. Trump is expected to implement a transactionalist approach to Taiwan, including measures such as demanding that Taiwan pay a high “protection fee” or requiring that Taiwan’s military spending amount to at least 10 percent of its GDP. However, if the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) invades Taiwan, it is doubtful that Trump would dispatch
World leaders are preparing themselves for a second Donald Trump presidency. Some leaders know more or less where he stands: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy knows that a difficult negotiation process is about to be forced on his country, and the leaders of NATO countries would be well aware of being complacent about US military support with Trump in power. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would likely be feeling relief as the constraints placed on him by the US President Joe Biden administration would finally be released. However, for President William Lai (賴清德) the calculation is not simple. Trump has surrounded himself
RSS