Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday pledged to continue the party’s efforts toward building a nuclear-free nation, a goal that he said is shared by the public.
Noting that work on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮) has been suspended, Chu, who doubles as New Taipei City mayor, said the issue of whether construction should resume must be decided by a referendum.
Chu was addressing remarks made by KMT presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who on Sunday said that as 3 million households lost power supplies during Typhoon Soudelor, she would not rule out resuming work on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant if she is elected.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Typhoon Soudelor caused the loss of power to 4.3 million households across the nation — the worst blackout caused by a typhoon in the nation’s history.
In April last year, President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration decided to immediately halt construction of the nearly completed power plant amid mounting public sentiment against nuclear power.
The government also decided that the question of whether the plant should be put into operation in the future must be determined by a national referendum, which is unlikely to be held until after the next president is inaugurated in May next year.
Hung yesterday said that the fate of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant would be subject to a legal process.
She said that politicians should tell the people the truth about the energy shortfall facing the nation.
While everyone is willing to support the goal of building a nuclear-free nation, it is very important to determine what methods should be used to achieve that goal, Hung said.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday criticized Hung over her remarks.
“We hope Hung can be more cautious and professional when speaking about energy issues, as it is obvious that the power outage was due to damage to the power supply system caused by the typhoon,” DPP Spokesperson Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) said. “It has nothing to do with a power shortage, and we hope Hung understands this.”
Cheng said that the DPP would not change its objective of making Taiwan a nuclear-free nation, and would put more effort into green energy sources and policies aimed at conserving energy.
Additional reporting by Loa Iok-sin
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
DEFENSIVE EDGE: The liaison officer would work with Taiwan on drones and military applications for other civilian-developed technologies, a source said A Pentagon unit tasked with facilitating the US military’s adoption of new technology is soon to deploy officials to dozens of friendly nations, including Taiwan, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is to send a representative to collaborate with Taiwan on drones and military applications from the semiconductor industry by the end of the year, the British daily reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “Drones will certainly be a focus, but they will also be looking at connecting to the broader civilian and dual-use ecosystem, including the tech sector,” one source was
RSS