Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday accused President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of “spurning the public” by declaring that he would not change his policy on nuclear energy.
Lu made the comments at a press conference with anti-nuclear organizations and academics, during which Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (TEPU) founding chairman Shih Hsin-min (施信民) said the union would push for a referendum on whether fuel rods should be instlaled in the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, which is under construction in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Gongliao District (貢寮).
If the government does not think the issue should be open to a local vote, the union would welcome a national referendum, Shih said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Lu criticized Ma and Taiwan Power Corp over recent nuclear safety drills, saying they were “only for show” and had no practical use.
Residents within a 5km radius of the nuclear plant should participate in the drills so they would know how to react in case of an emergency, she said.
The Ma administration should also, in accordance with Article 23 of the Basic Environment Act (環境基本法), set up a committee to pave the way for the establishment of a nuclear-free nation and invite the public and authorities to participate in the meetings, Lu said.
After the nuclear accident at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, Germany convened a Nuclear Power Ethics Committee meeting between experts and academics, which decided to completely halt operations of all nuclear power plants within a decade and boost research into alternative sources of energy, Lu said.
The committee also agreed to immediately cease operations at seven old nuclear power plants, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on June 3 decided to shut down -another nuclear power plant, Lu said.
The whole nuclear-suspension plan will be submitted to the German parliament next month, Lu said, adding that Taiwan could learn from that experience.
Ma’s statement that a nuclear power plant could be shut down in the event of a disaster showed ignorance, former TEPU chairman Gloria Hsu (徐光蓉) said.
Despite efforts by Tokyo Electric Power Co to shut down the -generator during the Fukushima incident, the crisis only escalated, she said.
It shows that someone in the government is giving Ma the wrong information, causing him to make incorrect decisions, Hsu said.
TRANSLATED BY JAKE CHUNG, STAFF WRITER
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
RSS