The Atomic Energy Council (AEC) yesterday approved Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower) request to restart a nuclear reactor, saying the council is still adhering to the government’s plan to achieve a nuclear-free homeland by 2025.
Taipower operates six nuclear reactors at three nuclear power plants. Until last month, only the No. 1 reactor at Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, in Ma-anshan (馬鞍山), Pingtung County, was operational.
Since the implementation of a summer electricity rate at the start of this month, Taipower has made two requests to the council, saying it needs to restart the No. 1 reactor at the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan plant.
Minister Without Portfolio Chang Ching-sen (張景森) on Thursday announced on Facebook the activation of the No. 1 reactor at the Guosheng plant, before the AEC made an official announcement on Friday.
Opponents of nuclear power worry that the government’s promise to phase out nuclear power by 2025 will not be realized.
A group of protesters gathered in front of the Executive Yuan at 9:30am yesterday, demanding that Premier Lin Chuan (林全) bar Taipower from restarting more nuclear generators.
“Lin should oust AEC Minister Hsieh Shou-shing (謝曉星) and immediately stop the nuclear plants’ operation,” Taiwan Environmental Radiation Survey convener Lin Jui-chu (林瑞珠) said.
There are 8,783 spent fuel rods stored at the Guosheng plant and in case of an emergency, there would be no room to store other spent fuel rods taken out of the reactor, Lin said.
The campaigners also asked the Control Yuan to investigate the liability of Lin Chuan and Hsieh, as well as that of Minister of the Economic Affairs Lee Chih-kung (李世光).
The AEC called a news conference one hour after the protest began.
“The AEC has been independent in making decisions. The minister without portfolio’s predictions might be based on his information from other sources,” AEC Department of Nuclear Regulation Director-General Chang Shin (張欣) said.
Taipower on June 1 made a request to restart the Guosheng plant’s No.1 reactor and on Friday made an application for electricity delivery, department Deputy Director-General Li Chi-ssu (李綺思) said.
The company applied to restart the Ma-anshan plant’s No.1 reactor on Wednesday, which the council approved yesterday, Chang said.
Hsieh said the council reviews applications filed by Taipower and the Ministry of Economic Affairs based on their adherence to safety standards.
The six nuclear generators will start to be decommissioned from next year through to 2025, he said, reaffirming that the time frame has not changed.
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
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