The "No Nuke Asia Forum 2005" continued yesterday in Taipei, with participants from around the world exchanging opinions on the development of renewable energy and the anti-nuclear campaigns in their countries.
The forum, which began last Thursday and will run until Wednesday and was organized by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (TEPU), has attracted representatives of environmental protection groups from Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, Russia and the US.
The participants visited several nuclear plants Friday and had talks with residents near the plants.
TEPU Chairman Shih Shin-min (施信民) noted that the Cabinet convened a national energy conference in 1998, setting a goal that renewable energy should account for 1 percent to 3 percent of the country's total energy capacity. At that time, the government did not have the idea of promoting a nuclear-free country.
In 2003, the government began anti-nuclear campaigns, setting its new goal in which renewable energy should account for 10 percent of the total by 2010.
Expressing hope that the government can fulfill its promise, Shih complained that even the 10 percent goal will still lag behind that of advanced countries.
Citing the example of Denmark, which has efficiently developed renewable energy such as hydro, wind, geothermal and biomass power, Shih noted that the European country's renewable energy accounts for 40 percent of its total.
With the Kyoto Protocol taking effect in February, which aims to limit the global emission of greenhouse gases, the EU hopes that renewable energy can account for 22 percent of each country's total by 2020.
However, Taiwan can only reach 12 percent goal by that time, Shih added.
According to Shih, Taiwan has been promoting hydro, wind, solar, geothermal and biomass power, but with low efficiency.
He urged the government and the people to show more concern for the environment and to focus on renewable energy.
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
The Supreme Court today rejected an appeal filed by former Air Force officer Shih Chun-cheng (史濬程), convicted of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) espionage, finalizing his sentence at two years and two months for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法). His other ruling, a ten-month sentence for an additional contravention, was meanwhile overturned and sent to the Taichung branch of the High Court for retrial, the Supreme Court said today. Prosecutors have been notified as Shih is considered a flight risk. Shih was recruited by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence officials after his retirement in 2008 and appointed as a supervisor
RSS