Calling the government’s energy policies “misguided,” the Climate Change Pioneering Alliance yesterday urged presidential candidates to sign a pledge that they would commission international experts to conduct a complete review of the mothballed Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮).
Only by having a broad, comprehensive view of the issue can the government decide what kind of clean power source to transition to that would best benefit the environment, alliance spokesperson Chiang Chao-yuan (江肇元) told a news conference in Taipei.
Electricity involves more than a flick of a switch or sticking plugs into outlets; it is also about transportation, smart industry, clean drinking water and food, Chiang said.
Photo: Taipei Times file photo
The UN’s 24/7 Carbon-free Energy initiative — which incorporates renewable resources and nuclear power as low-carbon alternatives — is gaining increasing support from state governments, international corporations and new-general environmental protection groups, he said.
Alliance founder Yang Chia-fa (楊家法) said that because of the government’s misguided energy policies, its energy transition efforts lack public support, have failed to generate revenue for the state, would not reduce coal-fired energy production and ultimately would not benefit the public.
These policies would not reduce the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels and would not increase low-carbon energy sources, Yang added.
LowCarbonPower Ltd Co representative, Olof Nordenstam of Sweden, said that statistics and trends on energy usage from different countries show that nuclear power together with renewable energy can reduce a nation’s carbon footprint and help it achieve net zero emissions.
The alliance called on presidential candidates to pledge that they would commission foreign experts to conduct a complete and transparent inspection of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant if elected.
The group said that presidential candidates should also assess the possibility of extending the lifetime of the three nuclear power plants in service or consider updating their equipment.
Presidential candidates should also ensure that Taiwan maintains an independent atomic energy research facility that will allow the nation to keep up with international trends, the group said.
While they would not be called to commit to using nuclear energy, they should explore all options, including nuclear power, which has been proven to be a viable choice as a low-carbon alternative power source, the group said.
The alliance will provide copies of the pledge to all presidential candidates over the next three weeks in hopes that they would treat the issue seriously, Yang said.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
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