Atomic Energy Council (AEC) Chairman Tsai Chuen-horng (蔡春鴻) said yesterday that he would be willing to visit China for talks on Taiwan's search for low-level radioactive waste disposal sites, if he is given an opportunity.
Fielding questions in the Legislative Yuan, Tsai said he would go to China to discuss the matter if such disposal sites, skilled personnel and nuclear waste management expertise were available there.
Tsai said, however, that for safety reasons there must be at least one location in Taiwan for the disposal of nuclear waste.
The AEC head made the remarks in response to questions raised by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party legislators on issues pertaining to reducing carbon dioxide emissions while maintaining economic growth.
KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) asked Tsai whether nuclear power output should be increased, since reducing carbon dioxide emissions is the centerpiece of the KMT administration’s energy policy. Lai cited France as a prime example of the use of nuclear power to help reduce greenhouse gases.
Tsai stopped short of giving a direct answer, saying only that nuclear power and carbon dioxide reduction are two issues that should be considered under the broader perspective of the country’s overall energy policy.
Noting that Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄), immediately after taking office on May 20, expressed the hope that the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant be completed on time or even ahead of schedule, Lai said that the handling and management of low-level radioactive waste had therefore become crucial.
Lai asked Tsai whether he would be willing to contact China over nuclear waste disposal.
In his report to the legislature, Tsai said storing low-level radioactive waste abroad could be feasible, but only if the recipient side were willing and capable.
Tsai also mentioned that the three nuclear power plants currently in operation in Taiwan produced 259 barrels of low-level radioactive waste last year, representing a year-on-year decline of 21 percent from 2006.
Meanwhile, he said, Taiwan Power Co has chosen eight possible sites — Wang’an Township (望安) in Penghu and seven others in Taiwan proper, including Mudan Township (牡丹) in Pingtung County and Daren (達仁) and Dawu (大武) townships in Taitung — to build storage sites for low-level nuclear waste.
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
TEMPORAL/SPIRITUAL: Beijing’s claim that the next Buddhist leader must come from China is a heavy-handed political maneuver that will fall flat-faced, experts said China’s requirement that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation to be born in China and approved by Beijing has drawn criticism, with experts at a forum in Taipei yesterday saying that if Beijing were to put forth its own Dalai Lama, the person would not be recognized by the Tibetan Buddhist community. The experts made a remarks at the two-day forum hosted by the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama titled: “The Snow Land Forum: Finding Common Ground on Tibet.” China says it has the right to determine the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, as it claims sovereignty over Tibet since ancient times,
Temperatures in some parts of Taiwan are expected to fall sharply to lows of 15°C later this week as seasonal northeasterly winds strengthen, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. It is to be the strongest cold wave to affect northern Taiwan this autumn, while Chiayi County in the southwest and some parts of central Taiwan are likely to also see lower temperatures due to radiational cooling, which occurs under conditions of clear skies, light winds and dry weather, the CWA said. Across Taiwan, temperatures are to fall gradually this week, dropping to 15°C to 16°C in the early hours of Wednesday
RSS