The Green Citizen Action Alliance (GCAA) yesterday protested outside a forum held by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) and Chung-hwa Nuclear Society, criticizing the organizers for inviting speakers who they said had a pro-nuclear power stance.
“Distorting the real facts about nuclear power,” several GCAA members chanted together, while holding a banner that implied that the organizers and speakers at the forum were all part of a “pro-nuclear power fraudulent organization.”
The group said the Japanese speakers had been advocates for nuclear power in their country for many years, even after the Fukushima Di-ichi nuclear power plant disaster in 2011, so by inviting them to talk about nuclear power, Taipower seems to be trying to misguide the media and the public.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
One of the speakers, Michio Ishikawa, a supreme adviser at the Japan Nuclear Technology Institute, said the main cause of the Fukushima Di-ichi disaster was not the devastating earthquake, but rather the following tsunami that led to a 10-day blackout at the plant, causing a nuclear meltdown and radiation leak.
There is no problem with the safety designs at present, but the risk of blackouts cannot be avoided with the current level of technology, he said, adding that the disaster was man-made and resulted from the failings of the government and related agencies.
However, the GCAA said Ishikawa has long been an advocate of nuclear power, and that the official report made by the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission of Japan’s Diet had stated “we believe there is a possibility that the earthquake damaged equipment necessary for ensuring safety.”
They also questioned the background of another speaker, Masao Nakamura, an honorary adviser at the Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry and a former journalist who wrote about nuclear power issues for many years for Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun daily, by saying that he had been commissioned by the Japan Atomic Energy Relations Organization to write a propaganda strategy report back in 1991.
The group said another speaker — Noboru Takamura, a professor at the Nagasaki University’s Department of Radiation Epidemiology — has spoken about how being exposed to certain levels of radiation may not necessary lead to negative health impacts, but they questioned why recent news reports have shown several children living near the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant having been diagnosed with thyroid carcinoma.
Minister of Economic Affairs Chang Chia-juch (張家祝) told the forum: “We will allow the public to make the final decision [about the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮)], but no matter what, we will definitely complete its construction safely.”
He said many reports have exaggerated the impact of the Fukushima Dai-ichi disaster, such as the number of deaths or the cost of compensation and restoration, but until today the Japanese government’s official report showed that only seven people died at the plant and none of the deaths were directly attributable to radiation exposure.
“There is no so-called ‘safe’ nuclear power,” GCAA secretary-general Tsuei Su-hsin (崔愫欣) said. “The most serious problem about using nuclear power is that if a serious accident happens, the scale of the disaster would be so large that everyone in Taiwan would have to bear the consequences, and the risks posed would last for generations.”
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
RSS