All three of the presidential candidates agree that the life of the country’s three operational nuclear power plants should not be extended, but they have mixed views on the progress of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao District (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市), local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) said yesterday, citing responses they received to a list of environmental questions submitted to all three of the candidates.
Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said she is opposed to the installation of fuel rods in the fourth plant, while People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said the safety of that step would have to be assured, the groups said at a press conference.
However, the candidates were all hesitant to support the idea of an immediate suspension of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant project or allowing residents within a 30km radius to vote on the fate of nuclear plants, said Shih Shin-min (施信民), an environmentalist and professor at National Taiwan University.
The Fourth Nuclear Power
Plant has been the subject of much controversy, with environmentalists advocating the suspension of the project before it gets to the stage where the fuel rods are installed. Currently the electrical and peripheral facilities of the plant are being put in place.
“When it comes time to install fuel rods, the government will give it some serious thought,” Minster of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) told lawmakers earlier this year at a legislative committee meeting in response to questions about the safety of the plant.
Meanwhile, the presidential candidates said the operations and life of the three existing plants should not be extended or prolonged, according to the responses made to the 16 questions posed by more than 10 environmental groups.
Representatives of the groups visited the three candidates’ campaign offices on Saturday to present their questions, which covered issues ranging from nuclear safety and petrochemical development to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.
At yesterday’s press conference, the groups urged the candidates to step up their nuclear safety policies and to suspend the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, which they called a dangerous facility that could have a catastrophic impact on the environment.
They also called on the candidates to introduce policies that would reduce carbon dioxide emissions to their 2000 levels by 2016 and to their 1990 levels by 2025.
In addition, the candidates should aim for negative growth of water and electricity consumption, the groups said.
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
RSS