Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) has not given up the hope of storing its nuclear waste overseas but the matter will not be easily settled as political factors will be involved, Taipower vice president Hsu Hwai-chiung (
Independent Legislator Li Ao (
"Taipower should face the matter squarely, and argue with its professional knowledge," Li said.
"It should tell the people and government that the issues of the fourth nuclear power plant and nuclear power waste are right before them. If the issues are not resolved, Taiwan will have no peace," Li said.
He said the nation has tried to store nuclear waste in North Korea without success because in accordance with international norms nuclear waste can only be stored in one's own country.
Li said the Constitution still enshrines the "one China" principle and that if he were commissioned to represent Taiwan in negotiations with Beijing, he would push to store Taipower's nuclear waste in northwest China.
He also inquired about the losses incurred from the suspension of the fourth nuclear power plant in late 2000 and the resumption of the construction early the following year.
Hsu said direct losses stood at more than NT$3 billion (US$90.9 million), although Lee claimed that the losses could hit NT$350 billion according to an estimate by the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei.
Taipower officials have said there are 97,672 barrels of low-level radioactive waste stored on Orchid Island and that they are hoping to complete repacking operations by 2010 before sending it to a final disposal destination.
Taipower has estimated that the Executive Yuan will decide on the final disposal location by 2011 and that construction of the site will be completed by 2016.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
RSS