Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (TEPU) yesterday said it would hold a signature drive at the five-day Ho-Hai-Yan Gongliao Rock Festival in New Taipei City (新北市) starting tomorrow in an effort to stop the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant near the rock festival’s venue.
TEPU chairman Lin Wen-yinn (林文印) said the annual rock festival attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to Fulong Beach (福隆海灘) in Gongliao District (貢寮) to enjoy music in beautiful surroundings, but the ongoing construction of a nuclear power plant near to the beach is destroying the environment.
“We hope that visitors who join the rock festival in pursuit of beautiful music and self-expression will also put their passion into the pursuit of a safe and beautiful environment,” he said.
Kao Cheng-yan (高成炎), a professor at National Taiwan University and a former TEPU chairman, said the group had initiated a petition for a local referendum in New Taipei City, asking residents whether fuel rods should be installed to start test operations at the plant.
The petition has already gathered about 12,000 signatures since its launch last summer, Kao said, adding that according to the law, it needs about 15,000 signatures to pass the first phase to petition for a local referendum and about 150,000 signatures for the second phase.
Yenliao Anti-Nuclear Self-Help Association secretary-general Yang Mu-huo (楊木火) said that as a resident, he believed the construction should be halted with or without a referendum, because “the construction of the plant is a total mess.”
In addition, the construction of a pier at the plant has blocked the natural flow of the sand along the beach, draining away the soft sand on the beach, which the government has replaced with impure sand, Yang said, adding that wastewater from the plant would also destroy the marine ecology.
Visitors to the annual rock festival may soon find themselves bathing in warm seawater, or even water contaminated with radioactive waste, when the nuclear power plant starts operating, he said.
The Fourth Nuclear Power Plant is not safe because it is a poorly assembled facility being built by Taiwan Power Co, which has no experience building a nuclear power plant by itself, Kao said, adding that more than NT$20 billion (US$66.7 million) on the construction and an additional NT$5 million supplementary budget are planned.
“The total expense of more of than NT$30 billion will be a heavy burden for Taiwan’s young people,” Kao said.
The group hopes to at least stop the additional supplementary budget from gaining approval, he said.
“Sign the referendum petition before you listen to music!” TEPU deputy secretary-general Lee Hsiu-jung (李秀容) said.
A petition booth will be set up at Fulong train station and a speech by the Yenliao Anti-Nuclear Self-Help Association will be held at 2:30pm on Thursday.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
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
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
RSS