Taiwan did have plutonium-related experiments several decades ago for the development of nuclear power, but none was about extracting plutonium as an ingredient for nuclear weapons, and the experiments were abandoned in the late 70s, the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) said yesterday, in response to a recent news report.
The Associated Press (AP) on Wednesday reported from Vienna that information from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) indicates Taiwan's plutonium separation experiments probably continued until about 20 years ago.
The AP attributed that finding to unnamed diplomats, whose information was based on preliminary samples taken in Taiwan by IAEA inspectors.
AEC officials yesterday said that the report was misleading.
"Several decades ago, Taiwan did carry out plutonium-related experiments in a bid to analyze the element's chemical characteristics," AEC Vice Chairman Yang Chao-yie (楊昭義) told the Taipei Times.
"At that time, scientists believed that the mixture of oxidized uranium and plutonium might be a possible fuel for nuclear power plants," Yang said.
Yang stressed that Taiwan's plutonium-related experiments were quite different from those involving plutonium separation, which can produce fissile material for nuclear weapons.
Yang said that plutonium-related experiments in Taiwan had been abandoned in the late 1970s, when then US president Jimmy Carter called for a total ban on the reprocessing of plutonium as fuel.
"Most facilities have been dismantled and two remaining gloveboxes [facilities used in plutonium experiments] will be destroyed in the near future," Yang said.
South Korea's revelation about its extracting a small amount of plutonium in the early 1980s might have motivated not only the IAEA but also other Western observers to keep their eyes on other Asian countries.
However, Taiwan has fully cooperated with IAEA inspectors and will continue to do so, Yang said.
"All nuclear related facilities in Taiwan are fully open to IAEA inspectors. They are welcome to make a check here any time," Yang said.
As of yesterday, the IAEA had not officially released its analysis on samples taken in Taiwan.
Local defense analysts said recent controversies about arms procurement involving a NT$610.8 billion weapon budget had been regarded as a possible sign of a cross-strait arms race in near future.
"It's logical for international political observers to ask if Taiwan, which is capable of developing nuclear weapons, would revive its past nuclear program in the near future due to increasing cross-strait tensions," Andrew Yang (
Although Taiwan is a not a party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the nation is still under pressure from the international community, which is currently focused on both counterterrorism and halting the spread of weapons of mass destruction, Andrew Yang said.
In order to further ensure regional security in eastern Asia, influential Taiwanese influential political leaders, such as President Chen Shui-bian (
On Tuesday, Premier Yu Shyi-kun denied that Taiwan was developing nuclear weapons in response to questions from People First Party Legislator Nelson Ku (
"Is there a group of non-U.S. scientists working on nuclear weapons in Taiwan?" Ku asked. "Is there a five-person team, including active and past members from the current administration, planning the development of nuclear weapons?"
Taiwan has arranged for about 8 million barrels of crude oil, or about one-third of its monthly needs, to be shipped from the Red Sea this month to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and ease domestic supply pressures, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said yesterday. The state-run oil company has worked with Middle Eastern suppliers to secure routes other than the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes, CPC chairman Fang Jeng-zen (方振仁) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. Suppliers in Saudi Arabia have indicated they
A global survey showed that 60 percent of Taiwanese had attained higher education, second only to Canada, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan easily surpassed the global average of 43 percent and ranked ahead of major economies, including Japan, South Korea and the US, data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for 2024 showed. Taiwan has a high literacy rate, data released by the ministry showed. As of the end of last year, Taiwan had 20.617 million people aged 15 or older, accounting for 88.5 percent of the total population, with a literacy rate of 99.4 percent, the data
CCP ‘PAWN’? Beijing could use the KMT chairwoman’s visit to signal to the world that many people in Taiwan support the ‘one China’ principle, an academic said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday arrived in China for a “peace” mission and potential meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), while a Taiwanese minister detailed the number of Chinese warships currently deployed around the nation. Cheng is visiting at a time of increased Chinese military pressure on Taiwan, as the opposition-dominated Legislative Yuan stalls a government plan for US$40 billion in extra defense spending. Speaking to reporters before going to the airport, Cheng said she was going on a “historic journey for peace,” but added that some people felt uneasy about her trip. “If you truly love Taiwan,
NEW LOW: The council in 2024 based predictions on a pessimistic estimate for the nation’s total fertility rate of 0.84, but last year that rate was 0.69, 17 percent lower An expected National Development Council (NDC) report expects the nation’s population to drop below 12 million by 2065, with the old-age dependency ratio to top 100 percent sooner than 2070, sources said yesterday. The council is slated to release its latest population projections in August, using an ultra-low fertility model, the sources said. The previous report projected that Taiwan’s population would fall to 14.37 million by 2070, but based on a new estimate of the total fertility rate (TFR) — the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime — the population is expected to reach 12 million by
RSS