Broadcasting Corp of China chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) yesterday called on the government to extend the use of the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County, and to resume construction of the mothballed Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao Dictrict (貢寮).
The government has said it would phase out nuclear power by 2025 as part of a plan to shift to green energy.
Jaw cited a report by the European Parliament on Wednesday that included nuclear power among the green energy options for the EU to encourage related investment.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Power Co
Jaw said the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) should follow the EU’s example.
He said that it should continue using the Guosheng and Maanshan nuclear power plants past 2025, and finish construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
The EU in the past had similarly advocated phasing out nuclear energy, but its position on the issue has changed, the Democratic Progressive Party should also re-examine the issue and change its stance on nuclear power, he said.
Jaw cited the South Korean government as saying that it would increase nuclear-power generation by 30 percent — which would lower energy costs in the nation — and asked how Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co would be able to compete with its main competitor, Samsung, should that happen.
Jaw also questioned whether the government’s plan to build a liquefied natural gas terminal off Keelung, near the city’s Hsieh-ho (協和) Power Plant, would be safe and whether it would affect coastal scenery.
The Environmental Protection Administration is expected to review the terminal’s environmental impact assessment on Sept. 30 after the proposal failed to pass a review on Thursday.
In response, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said that the government was not rushing the abolition of nuclear power, but needed to resolve the issue of disposing of nuclear waste and work out how to cooperate with local governments where nuclear plants would be located, she said.
Taiwan Power Co in its modified proposal sought to reduce the environmental impact of the Keelung project, particularly its effects on coral and scallops that grow in the area, she said.
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
FLU CONTINUES: Hospitals reported 101,091 visits for flu-like illnesses last week, while 68 severe cases and 16 flu-related deaths were also reported, the CDC said The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported 932 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 and 64 related deaths for last week, adding that the number of people who had contracted new SARS-CoV-2 subvariants KP.2 and LB.1 has increased. The number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 increased from 815 in the previous week to 932 last week, while 90 percent of the 64 deceased were aged 65 or older, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. JN.1 was still the dominant variant among local and imported cases in the past four weeks, while KP.2 was the second-most common, Lin said. Cases with the LB.1 subvariant