The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday criticized President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) energy inspection tour for not including Pingtung County’s green-energy industry, despite staying the night at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Ma-anshan (馬鞍山), Pingtung County.
DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said that Ma should not be touring facilities about which the public are voicing their discontent and asking for the fourth of its kind to be discontinued, but should instead be focusing on the development of green energy.
The way Ma’s inspection tour was designed is very disappointing and shows that Ma’s mindset is “antiquated,” and that he is unwilling to consider replacing nuclear power with green energy, Su said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Su complimented Pingtung County Commissioner Tsao Chi-hung’s (曹啟鴻) green-energy policy and said that it was odd for Ma not to visit such a facility.
Under the policy, land flooded by seawater during Typhoon Morakot in 2009 or with very saline soil which makes it unsuitable for agriculture — primarily in Jiadong Township (佳冬), Linbian Township (林邊) and other coastal areas — is used to place solar panels that generate power which is sold to Taiwan Power Co (Taipower).
Approved by the Executive Yuan in 2010, the policy aims to give people whose sole means of income — agriculture — was disrupted by Morakot an alternative income, as well as give land in the area time to recover from salinization and subsidence.
Morakot, which battered southern Taiwan from Aug. 7 until Aug. 10, 2009, caused the most devastating flooding since 1959, as well as multiple landslides. The typhoon killed 677 people and 22 people went missing and were never found.
Su also criticized Ma for excluding Tsao from the group that went on the energy tour, saying that Tsao should have been kept in the loop because as county commissioner, he would be tasked with disaster relief if a nuclear disaster occurred.
Instead of announcing that he would stay overnight at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant — which sounds like he was on a casual trip — Ma should instead tell people how they are to evacuate if anything happens to the nuclear power plant, Su said.
Su said that Provincial Highway No. 27 often experiences heavy traffic and Ma should tell the public what the government’s contingency plans are to help people evacuate the area without getting stuck in a traffic jam.
Su also touched on environmental protection issues involving nuclear power plants, specifically referring to coral bleaching, which is caused by hot water pumped from nuclear power plants heating up the seawater in which coral grows.
Ma should tell the public how hot the water pumped out of the plants is and what the maximum heat is that coral can handle before bleaching occurs, Su said.
Meanwhile, when asked about the passage of an amendment to Article 99, Section 1 of the Accounting Act (會計法) on Friday — allegedly to allow former independent legislator Yen Ching-piao (顏清標) to have his sentence reduced — Su said he respected the Legislative Yuan and its way of operation.
Yen was sentenced on Nov. 28 last year to three-and-a-half years in prison for misuse of public funds — spending council money at hostess bars and KTV lounges — during his term as Taichung County Council speaker, but he may be released from jail under the amendment.
National Taiwan University Hospital physician Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who is under investigation for allegedly misusing receipts to claim reimbursements from the National Science Council, and several hundred other college professors facing similar allegations, would also be cleared under the amendment.
When asked whether Ko would be nominated to represent the DPP and campaign for Taipei City mayor, Su said that the party would follow its own system for candidate nominations.
NEW AGREEMENT: Malaysia approved imports last year after nearly two years of negotiations and inspections to meet quarantine requirements, officials said Up to 3.6 tonnes of pomeloes from Taiwan cleared Malaysian customs on Friday, in the first shipment of Taiwanese pomeloes to Malaysia. Taiwan-grown pomeloes are popular in domestic and overseas markets for their tender and juicy taste, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said. The fruit is already exported to Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines, it added. The agency began applying for access to the Malaysian market in 2023, compiling data on climate suitability, pests and diseases, and post-harvest handling, while also engaging in nearly two years of negotiations with Malaysian authorities and submitting supplementary
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
Tigerair Taiwan and China Airlines (CAL) today announced that several international flights were canceled or rescheduled due to Typhoon Ragasa. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has maintained sea and land warnings for the typhoon. Its storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan's southern tip at 11am today. Tigerair Taiwan said it canceled Monday's IT551/IT552 Taoyuan-Da Nang, IT606/IT607 Taoyuan-Busan and IT602 Taoyuan-Seoul Incheon flights. Tomorrow, cancelations include IT603 Seoul Incheon-Taoyuan, as well as flights between Taoyuan and Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Saga, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Asahikawa and Jeju. On Wednesday, the IT321/IT322 Kaohsiung-Macau round-trip would also be canceled. CAL announced that today's
Three tropical depressions yesterday intensified into tropical storms, with one likely to affect Taiwan as a typhoon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The three storms, named Mitag, Ragasa and Neoguri, were designated as storms No. 17 to 19 for this year, the CWA said. Projected routes indicate that Ragasa is most likely to affect Taiwan, it said. As of 2am today, Ragasa was 1,370km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) on the southernmost tip of Taiwan. It was moving west-northwest before turning northwest, slowing from 11kph to 6kph, the agency said. A sea warning for Ragasa is unlikely before Sunday afternoon, but its outer rim