Taiwan has less funds available and less robust disaster-response procedures than Japan in the event of a nuclear disaster, Control Yuan member Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) said on Friday.
Tien made the comments while presenting the results of an assessment of the response measures and costs of a potential nuclear disaster in Taiwan, and compared the data with Japan’s response to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster on March 11, 2011.
Such a disaster at a Taiwanese nuclear power plant could require the resettlement of up to 10 million people, the report said.
Photo: CNA
Tien and fellow Control Yuan members Eugene Jao (趙永清), Lin Sheng-fong (林盛豐) and Wang Li-chen (王麗珍) conducted the assessment.
Asked why the Control Yuan had held the news conference just ahead of the Dec. 18 referendum vote — which includes a question on whether to restart construction on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮) — Tien said the assessment was a follow-up to a June investigation into the feasibility of activating the plant.
The second assessment required more time to complete, she added.
The Control Yuan has been assessing the power plant for more than a decade, during which time it has called for corrective actions related to it, regardless of which political party was in power, Jao said, adding that similar findings were reported during the presidency of Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
“It has nothing to do with political stance. We simply present factual information,” he said.
In their report, the members found eight issues related to the plant, including the storage of spent fuel rods and the high risk of a nuclear disaster, and suggested that the Executive Yuan and government officials review their findings, Tien said.
“No place in the world has solved the issue of dealing with spent nuclear rods. Also, Taiwan is on geological fault lines,” Jao said. “Not to mention that we face the threat of a military confrontation with China. A nuclear plant would be a dangerous target.”
Broadcasting Corp of China chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) yesterday called the report biased, adding that the Control Yuan was being run as an arm of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
“This [Control Yuan] is refereeing its own game. It has no credibility and is totally unfair,” he said.
Urging people to vote “yes” in the referendum on the nuclear power plant, Jaw said that Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates and Tesla CEO Elon Musk have also championed the benefits of nuclear energy.
Ma yesterday said that activating the nuclear power plant would prevent power shortages, halt increases to electricity bills, reduce air pollution and ensure national security by stabilizing the power supply.
The share of renewables in the Taiwan’s power supply increased by 4.8 percent during his presidency, but dropped to 0.7 percent under the DPP-led government, Ma said.
“If the government ends the use of nuclear power by 2025, every household would have to pay NT$30,000 more in electricity bills per year,” he said.
Separately yesterday, the National Nuclear Abolition Action Platform placed shoes in front of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei’s Liberty Square as a form of silent protest against the use of nuclear power.
The group also put up signs in front of the square urging people to vote against restarting construction on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
The group adopted the protest format of opponents of nuclear power in other countries as an alternative to its traditional rallies, which it canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, platform secretary-general Tsuei Su-hsin (崔愫欣) said.
Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan deputy executive director Tsai Chung-yueh (蔡中岳) said the platform had collected more than 1,000 shoes — each representing a voice of protest — in just two weeks.
“This demonstrates that there is quite a lot of opposition to the use of nuclear power, and that protest movements like this are on the right course,” he said.
Additional reporting by Chen Yun and CNA
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
POLICY UNCHANGED? Despite Trump’s remarks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured that US policy toward Taiwan has remained consistent since the 1970s US President Donald Trump on Wednesday again refused to make clear his stance on protecting Taiwan from a hypothetical takeover by China during his presidency. Asked by a reporter during a Cabinet meeting whether it was his policy that China would never take Taiwan by force while he is president, Trump declined to give a definitive answer. “I never comment on that,” he said. “I don’t comment on it because I don’t want to ever put myself in that position.” Trump also reiterated that he has a “great relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and said that Washington welcomes good relations with
RSS