More than half the public want construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Gongliao District (貢寮) to be halted due to safety concerns, according to two surveys released yesterday ahead of a mass protest at the weekend.
Fifty-four percent of the 1,071 people interviewed in a survey commissioned by weekly magazine Business Today were in favor of scrapping the atomic power plant, while 23 percent opposed it.
A total of 63.5 percent believed that nuclear power plants are unsafe against 2.5 percent who considered them safe, while only 11 percent said they have faith in the government’s ability to manage the plants, the poll said.
Another survey conducted by the Chinese-language China Times showed similar results, with 62.4 percent of 761 people interviewed in favor of stopping construction of the plant, against 21.2 percent who want the work to continue.
Debate over the nation’s latest nuclear power facility — under construction since 1999 and still not completed — heated up as the legislature prepared to review an additional budget of about NT$40 billion (US$1.4 billion).
Organizers expect about 50,000 people to take to the streets across the nation tomorrow to urge the government to heed the lessons of the Japanese atomic crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant that was triggered by a powerful earthquake and tsunami two years ago.
Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is regularly hit by earthquakes. A magnitude 5.6 earthquake shook buildings in Taipei yesterday.
Last month, Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) said for the first time that the government would support holding a referendum on the nuclear plant amid mounting public concern.
Then on Monday, officials said that international experts would run safety checks on the existing trio of nuclear plants as part of efforts to reassure the public following the Japanese disaster.
Currently, there are three nuclear power plants in operation — the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in Shihmen District (石門), New Taipei City, the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in Wanli (萬里), New Taipei City, and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Ma-anshan (馬鞍山), Pingtung County.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
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