President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday defended his administration’s efforts to ensure the safety of nuclear power plants, citing major precautionary measures at the controversial Fourth Nuclear Power Plant that include abandoning the plant to prevent a nuclear disaster.
“A resolute handling measure allows us to sacrifice the plant if a big earthquake, tsunami or any disaster could cause radiation leaks. We would rather abandon the plant than cause a nuclear disaster,” he said at the Presidential Office while meeting with a group of nuclear experts from Japan.
Such a measure, which could be completed in 46 minutes, showed the government’s dedication to strengthening safety measures at local nuclear power plants after Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident two years ago, while continuing its efforts to reduce the use of nuclear power steadily and build a nuclear-free homeland eventually, he said.
“Taiwan pays more attention to the significance of the Fukushima accident than many other countries because, like Japan, Taiwan depends heavily on energy imports,” he said.
Of the nation’s electricity supply, 40 percent comes from fossil fuels, 30 percent from natural gas and nuclear power accounts for 18.5 percent. The rest is supplied by alternative energy sources.
The Ma administration has been promoting the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Gongliao District (貢寮) amid growing concerns about the safety of nuclear power plants.
While Ma promised to resolve disputes over the plant through a national referendum, Minister of Economic Affairs Chang Chia-juch (張家祝) told a forum on Monday that the government plans to complete the construction of the plant regardless.
Ma insisted yesterday that the government has conducted thorough inspections on operating nuclear power plants and the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant over the past two years, and said the government would allow the public to decide via a referendum whether the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant should continue.
“We hope that the referendum will be held by the end of this year. It will be a very important decision for our energy policy,” he said.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
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