President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday led a group of senior officials and reporters on an “energy tour” in an effort to raise awareness of the challenges facing Taiwan’s energy sector, but the visit was momentarily delayed after the most powerful earthquake so far this year struck in Nantou County.
Ma and the delegation were en route to the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Ma-anshan (馬鞍山), Pingtung County, when the earthquake struck Nantou County’s Renai Township (仁愛).
Following the quake, Vice Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) took early leave of the tour.
Photo: CNA
Ma told the press that Mao was returning to Taipei to handle post-earthquake affairs, adding that Mao had also instructed Minister of the Interior Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源) to lead the Central Disaster Response Center.
Meanwhile, Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), who was part of the group, said the government hopes the two-day visit will improve the public’s understanding of the administration’s energy policy.
The information obtained during the tour could be factored into the nation’s deliberations on whether to complete the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Gongliao District (貢寮), he said.
The fate of the project, under construction since 1999, is expected to be decided in a national referendum, likely to be held before the end of the year.
On the first day of the energy tour, officials and senior journalists visited a liquefied natural gas terminal, a coal-fired power station and a solar power station, all of which are located in Greater Kaohsiung.
The group was to spend last night in Pingtung County, before visiting the Fourth Nuclear Plant today.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a