Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday launched an anti-nuclear referendum drive in New Taipei City (新北市) against the establishment of dry storage facilities for spent fuel rods and the operation of the yet-to-be-completed Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao District (貢寮).
Lu, an advocate of a “nuclear-free homeland,” said the safety of Taiwanese, especially those in northern Taiwan, was in jeopardy, with three nuclear power plants along the northern coast, but the government has ignored the public’s voice.
“With the passage of the Act Governing New Taipei Referendums (新北市公民投票自治條例) on June 25, people in New Taipei City, the city with the highest nuclear power plant density in the world with three plants, can make a change,” Lu told a press conference outside the Taipei International Convention Center, where Taipower Co was holding a public hearing on the establishment of dry casks for spent nuclear fuels in the first and second nuclear power plants in Jinshan District (金山) and Wanli District (萬里) respectively.
Photo: CNA
Lu said she had a three-phase plan for the referendum, which could be an opportunity for the public to alter the government’s insistence on the use of nuclear power.
The first phase is a four-vehicle motorcade, which is scheduled to tour the 28 districts in New Taipei City from yesterday through July 26 before making its way into Taipei City from July 27 to July 31 to raise anti-nuclear awareness among residents, she said.
The second phase would begin next month, when Lu and representatives from various civic groups would visit local opinion leaders.
The final phase would be the signature collection for the referendum petition, she said, adding that it was a hard-won opportunity for residents to have a say about the place they live.
If residents in Matsu could vote for the establishment of a casino resort with a referendum, residents in New Taipei City should also be able to determine whether they want nuclear power plants by a referendum,” said Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), director of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) New Taipei City office.
Pan Han-shen (潘翰聲), convener of Green Party of Taiwan, said the New Taipei City anti-nuclear referendum movement was a nonpartisan effort and called for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to join in the initiative.
“Taiwan is the only country in the world which has not only one, but three nuclear power plants near its capital,” Pan said.
Hsu Fu-hsiung (許富雄), a resident of Jinshan, which is located between the first and the second nuclear power plants, said residents did not believe Taipower could manage nuclear safety.
“If something bad happens, the ones who have to pay the price are not just the residents in Jinshan, but people of the entire nation. Let’s not forget that,” Hsu said.
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
RSS