During the second televised debate between the three presidential candidates on Dec. 17, the candidates expressed their opinions on the development of nuclear energy in Taiwan. One wonders if they took public opinion into consideration, or if they have considered scrapping the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant on safety concerns.
After disaster struck the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan in March, the National Association for Radiation Protection invited a group of Taiwan-based professors to conduct a survey into public awareness of the risks related to nuclear power plant operations.
Through a systematic questionnaire, a total of 2,287 respondents was surveyed. They reside, work, or study in Jinshan (金山), Shimen (石門) and Wanli (萬里) townships in the vicinity of Taiwan’s first and second nuclear power plants; in Hengchun (恆春), Manjhou (滿州) and Checheng (車城) townships in the vicinity of the third nuclear power plant; and in Gongliao Township (貢寮) in the vicinity of the planned Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. The responses were then compared to those of residents in other areas.
The survey showed that 85 percent of respondents in townships near the operational plants and 97 percent of those in Gongliao believe that the plants pose a high health risk. Ninety percent of those who do not live in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant believe they have a negative impact on health. They also believe that living within 30km of a power plant increases the risk of cancer by between two and six times.
The results also indicated that people are generally unwilling to live in areas close to Taiwan’s nuclear power plants and believe it is safer to live at least 90km to 100km away.
Sixty percent of respondents expressed the hope that a strict timetable would be established for the abolition of nuclear power, and felt that alternative energy sources should provide about 50 percent of the nation’s energy needs. In addition, about 60 percent of respondents were opposed to allowing the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant to begin operating. Even among those not opposed to the plant, more than 80 percent felt that nuclear power plants had a negative impact on health and hoped for a major increase in the use of alternative energy sources.
More than 70 percent of respondents believe nuclear safety in Taiwan to be inferior to that in Japan and that the safety management capabilities of Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) and the government are equally weak. More than 80 percent do not trust the government’s evacuation plans for nuclear power plant emergencies.
On the whole, the survey showed the public does not readily accept nuclear power and many give the industry’s 30-year development in Taiwan a failing grade, even though Taipower has long provided financial compensation and education in neighboring townships.
The public has very high expectations of alternative energy, which are not fully supported by any of the presidential candidates. However, they are also concerned the price of electricity will go up, and about potential power shortages.
Public concerns about nuclear power are at an all-time high, but the performance of Taipower and the government’s nuclear power agencies has been lackluster. They frequently force their policies on disadvantaged groups and remote areas.
All the presidential candidates say they consider nuclear safety a top priority, but if they don’t have public trust, how do they expect to get public support for such expensive and outdated public projects?
Peter Chang is chairman of the National Association for Radiation Protection. Ho Jung-chun is a board member of the association.
TRANSLATED BY EDDY CHANG
Two sets of economic data released last week by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) have drawn mixed reactions from the public: One on the nation’s economic performance in the first quarter of the year and the other on Taiwan’s household wealth distribution in 2021. GDP growth for the first quarter was faster than expected, at 6.51 percent year-on-year, an acceleration from the previous quarter’s 4.93 percent and higher than the agency’s February estimate of 5.92 percent. It was also the highest growth since the second quarter of 2021, when the economy expanded 8.07 percent, DGBAS data showed. The growth
In the intricate ballet of geopolitics, names signify more than mere identification: They embody history, culture and sovereignty. The recent decision by China to refer to Arunachal Pradesh as “Tsang Nan” or South Tibet, and to rename Tibet as “Xizang,” is a strategic move that extends beyond cartography into the realm of diplomatic signaling. This op-ed explores the implications of these actions and India’s potential response. Names are potent symbols in international relations, encapsulating the essence of a nation’s stance on territorial disputes. China’s choice to rename regions within Indian territory is not merely a linguistic exercise, but a symbolic assertion
More than seven months into the armed conflict in Gaza, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take “immediate and effective measures” to protect Palestinians in Gaza from the risk of genocide following a case brought by South Africa regarding Israel’s breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention. The international community, including Amnesty International, called for an immediate ceasefire by all parties to prevent further loss of civilian lives and to ensure access to life-saving aid. Several protests have been organized around the world, including at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and many other universities in the US.
Every day since Oct. 7 last year, the world has watched an unprecedented wave of violence rain down on Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories — more than 200 days of constant suffering and death in Gaza with just a seven-day pause. Many of us in the American expatriate community in Taiwan have been watching this tragedy unfold in horror. We know we are implicated with every US-made “dumb” bomb dropped on a civilian target and by the diplomatic cover our government gives to the Israeli government, which has only gotten more extreme with such impunity. Meantime, multicultural coalitions of US