Saying that the compensation for damage caused by the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan was way beyond what Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) or the Japanese government could afford, a Japan-based Taiwanese writer yesterday urged Taiwan to abandon all nuclear power.
Writer Liu Li-erh (劉黎兒), who has lived in Tokyo for 30 years, made the appeal at a press conference held at the legislature in the company of Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇).
Tien said that, according to a Sept. 30 report in Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun, the Japanese government has asked TEPCO to pay out ￥4.54 trillion (US$58.4 billion) in compensation to the 150,000 residents living within 20km of the plant who were forced to evacuate within two years.
Having recently published a book against nuclear power, Liu said the president of TEPCO had remarked that nuclear power was actually a very expensive power source when compensation fees are calculated, and that a professor from the University of Tokyo has even estimated that it would cost up to ￥800 trillion, amounting to approximately 10 years of the national budget, if the soil and road surface of radiation-affected areas are to be cleaned up.
The damage is so much that the Japanese government would go well beyond bankruptcy, Liu said.
Noting that even Tokyo, which is more than 200km away from Fukushima Dai-ichi, was affected by the radiation, Liu expressed concern that there are about 6 million people living within 50km of the Jinshan and Guosheng nuclear power plants in New Taipei City (新北市), who would have nowhere to evacuate if an accident occurred.
Liu added that the disposal of used fuel rods is also an unsolvable problem for many countries. With 59,000 used rods in Japan and 15,000 in Taiwan, the governments could only continue to search for places to store them, but the amount of radiation from the used rods in Taiwan amount to the radioactive dust produced by about 230,000 atomic bombs, she said.
She said many people thought it was a waste of money to have spent NT$320 billion (US$10.6 billion) to construct the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao District (貢寮), New Taipei City, and not allow it to operate, but it would actually cost twice that amount to retire the plant after it begins operations.
“There is no safety as long as nuclear power exists,” she said, urging the government to put a stop to nuclear power to avoid possible irreparable destruction.
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A tropical disturbance off the southeastern coast of the Philippines might become the first typhoon of the western Pacific typhoon season, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The system lacks a visible center and how it would develop is only likely to become clear on Sunday or Monday, the CWA said, adding that it was not yet possible to forecast the potential typhoon's effect on Taiwan. The American Meteorological Society defines a tropical disturbance as a system made up of showers and thunderstorms that lasts for at least 24 hours and does not have closed wind circulation.
DIPLOMACY: It is Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo’s first visit to Taiwan since he took office last year, while Eswatini’s foreign minister is also paying a visit A delegation led by Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo arrived in Taiwan yesterday afternoon and is to visit President William Lai (賴清德) today. The delegation arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 4:55pm, and was greeted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). It is Arevalo’s first trip to Taiwan since he took office last year, and following the visit, he is to travel to Japan to celebrate the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Arevalo said at the airport that he is very glad to make the visit to Taiwan, adding that he brings an important message of responsibility
RSS