Japan has been told that if the radiation levels in the treated nuclear wastewater from its disabled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant exceed safety standards in waters around Taiwan, it should stop the release of the water, a Taiwanese diplomat said on Thursday.
The diplomat, who asked to be identified only as an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Taiwan-Japan Relations Association, said that Taiwan’s conditions were put forth to the Japanese government by the association and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan.
Taiwan has also asked to put the issue on the regular agendas of the annual Taiwan-Japan dialogue on oceanic affairs and the annual discussions between the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) and its Japanese counterpart, the diplomat said.
Photo: Reuters
The aim of that suggestion is to devise the best ways to monitor the safety levels of the treated radioactive wastewater being released, the diplomat said.
JAPAN ACKNOWLEDGES
The Japanese representative to whom that proposal was presented has agreed to forward it to the country’s government and would inform Taiwan of the response in due course, they said.
The terms Taiwan has put forth for stopping the discharge of the treated radioactive water have been acknowledged by the Japanese government, which has said only that it understands Taiwan’s position on the issue, they added.
The diplomat was commenting on the government’s response to a protest held on Wednesday in front of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association by Taiwanese non-governmental organizations against the release of the nuclear wastewater.
The Cabinet on Wednesday said the nuclear wastewater would take a year or two before it reaches the Taiwan Strait.
The radioactive substance tritium is projected to reach its maximum concentration in nearby waters in four years, Cabinet spokesman Lin Tze-luen (林子倫) said, adding the expected maximum level is lower than the usual concentration of tritium in the waters around Taiwan.
As such, the impact on radiation-related safety near Taiwan is expected to be “negligible,” he said.
The AEC said the government had a plan to protect the public from radioactive ocean contamination by taking measures such as monitoring changes in the ocean flow and checking more frequently for radioactive residues in aquatic products.
The Fisheries Agency also said that a cross-ministerial task force in Taiwan had been monitoring food safety since the meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in the wake of the 2011 tsunami in Japan.
In preparation for Japan’s release of the treated nuclear wastewater, government agencies have expanded their testing of marine products, the agency 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