The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on Thursday backed a proposal by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) to build small nuclear fission reactors in every administrative region of Taiwan.
The proposal to build small modular reactors (SMR) is forward-looking and has broad international vision, as many countries are developing SMRs to meet industrial and residential power demand, KMT spokesman Alfred Lin (林家興) told reporters.
Moreover, the plan would allow Taiwan to reach its goal of being energy self-sufficient, Lin said.
Photo: Liu Pin-chuan, Taipei Times
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s “misdirected” energy policy has resulted in shortages and impeded economic growth, the KMT said, adding that people’s health has been harmed by the expansion of coal-derived power.
“The KMT in 2021 presented a national energy policy to enable Taiwan to have clean, stable and affordable electricity from a variety of sources while meeting greenhouse gas reduction targets to adapt to long-term climate change,” Lin said. “Only the KMT’s policy can achieve the aims of low-carbon emissions and a homeland that does not burn coal.”
Gou — who is seeking the KMT’s presidential nomination — on Tuesday told an event in Kaohsiung’s Zuoying District (左營) that he backed SMRs.
SMRs are a proposed class of nuclear reactors that have a power capacity of less than 300 megawatts per unit.
Gou’s proposal to put SMRs in “each municipality and county” has sparked heated debate.
The National Nuclear Abolition Action Platform said in a news release on Thursday that Gou’s energy policy was “totally irresponsible.”
“SMRs and conventional nuclear power plants use nuclear fission, but SMRs produce 20 to 30 times more radioactive waste than conventional nuclear power plants,” it said.
Gou is likely confusing SMRs with nuclear fusion and is misleading the public by packaging his proposal in technical terms, the group said.
“Nuclear fusion is still in the research stage after many years,” it said.
“While it is expected to be much safer — as it would not generate radioactive waste — there has not been a commercial breakthrough, as it requires more energy to run than it can generate,” it said. “There is no timetable for fusion technology to be viable in the near future.”
“We oppose nuclear energy, because we have no way to treat radioactive waste,” it said.
The Green Citizens’ Action Alliance also slammed Gou’s proposal.
“Taiwan must not become an experimental site for the nuclear power industry, and energy policy requires professional evaluation and monitoring,” it said.
“Nuclear issues should not be politicized for campaign purposes,” it added.
“Building SMRs would not help the electricity situation much, nor would it improve Taiwan’s competitiveness,” it said. “Taiwan has no place to permanently store the spent nuclear fuel it has now, so it is delusional to suggest constructing SMRs, which could generate up to 30 times as much waste.”
“Has Gou asked local government heads whether they would be willing to allow nuclear waste storage sites in their regions?” it asked.
“Nuclear power can be destructive if it is mishandled,” DPP Legislator Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) said, adding that electricity supply must be stable, but disasters can hit nuclear power plants and there is no technology to deal with a nuclear disaster.
“Gou’s outrageous proposals have led to anxiety and panic in society,” DPP spokesman Chang Chih-hao (張志豪) said. “He is promoting himself by presenting bizarre ideas. It is regretable that he has such disregard for the lives of our citizens and their property.”
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS