The once-suspended construction of a wharf built for the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant resumed in early May, making it possible for Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) to import a nuclear reactor from Japan next month, the company said yesterday.
In order not to delay the scheduled completion of the nuclear power plant in July 2006, Taipower would transfer one of two nuclear reactors currently being built in Japan to Kungliao at the end of next month, officials said.
"It means that we have to have the wharf working by then," said Huang Huei-yu (黃惠予), the head of Taipower's public affairs department.
The shipment of the reactor was originally scheduled for late this month, Huang said.
"We don't think the delay will have any effect on the plant's scheduled date of completion," Huang said.
Huang said that Public Construction Commission Vice Chairman Kuo Ching-chiang (
The construction of the wharf had been halted in mid-January, when Premier Yu Shyi-kun decided to launch an investigation into the relation between coastal erosion and construction of the wharf.
Last month, the investigation report suggested that the loss of sand at the nearby Fulung Beach could be attributed to stresses on the environment caused by construction of the wharf.
However, ministers without portfolio Lin Sheng-feng (
On Thursday, Liu Chao-hsiung (劉照雄), Taipower's site manager for the Lungmen Construction Office (龍門施工處) in Kungliao, convened a meeting with local residents.
According to Liu, on May 1 the Cabinet's Ministry of Economic Affairs ordered Taipower to resume construction of the wharf, further deepening the dock.
Local residents and anti-nuclear environmentalists, however, vigorously expressed their opposition to the decision, and angrily left the meeting.
"It looks like the Cabinet failed to coordinate its subordinate agencies on the issue," Wu Wen-tung (吳文通), spokesman for the Kungliao-based Yenliao Anti-Nuclear Self-Help Association, said yesterday.
Both Wu and environmentalists called for a new, comprehensive evaluation to be conducted by the Environmental Protection Administration.
When the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (環境影響評估法) was enacted in 1994, environmentalists began highlighting what they said were questionable aspects of the assessment conducted by the Atomic Energy Commission.
Lai Wei-chieh (賴偉傑), secretary-general of the Green Citizen Action Alliance, said yesterday that resumption of construction revealed that the Cabinet's investigation into coastal erosion had no substantial influence.
Lai said that the Cabinet's performance in the matter demonstrates that promoting sustainable development had never been the government's priority.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
American climber Alex Honnold is to attempt a free climb of Taipei 101 today at 9am, with traffic closures around the skyscraper. To accommodate the climb attempt and filming, the Taipei Department of Transportation said traffic controls would be enforced around the Taipei 101 area. If weather conditions delay the climb, the restrictions would be pushed back to tomorrow. Traffic controls would be in place today from 7am to 11am around the Taipei 101 area, the department said. Songzhi Road would be fully closed in both directions between Songlian Road and Xinyi Road Sec 5, it said, adding that bidirectional traffic controls would
RSS