No consensus on whether the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant construction project in Gongliao Dictrict (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市), should continue was reached at a public seminar held by an educational foundation in Taipei this weekend.
Green Citizens’ Action Alliance secretary-general Lai Wei-chieh (賴偉傑) said foreign reports showed that the nuclear power reactors currently in operation in Taiwan are listed as located in areas that have very high risks of natural accidents and are unsuitable for developing nuclear power.
Although no major disasters have occurred at the nation’s nuclear power plants in the past 30 years, this does not imply that they are safe, Lai said.
“All it means is that we have been lucky, but cannot guarantee we will always be so lucky,” Lai said.
“Keep the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan in mind and remember that such a serious disaster happened in a nation that was considered to be very careful,” he said, adding that Taiwan is even less suitable for developing nuclear power than Japan and that such an accident would cause irreversible damage to the nation.
He said if an accident did occur at the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, residents living within 40km from it would have to be evacuated, which means that half of the people living in Greater Taipei would be affected.
However, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research chairman Liang Chi-yuan (梁啟源) said the price of electricity would increase drastically if Taiwanese choose to abandon nuclear power.
Many people who oppose nuclear power have advocated using natural gas, but the cost of generating this source of energy is more than two times higher than electricity generated by nuclear power, he said, adding that the safety reserves of natural gas plants only last one week, meaning the power supply could be affected in situations such as typhoons.
He said nuclear power plants are expected to provide 60 percent of South Korea’s total electricity supply by 2030.
Conversely, if Taiwan refuses to continue construction on the new plant and allows the operating plants to be decommissioned, no electricity will be supplied by nuclear power in Taiwan by 2030, Liang said.
Liang said the nation should have a diversified energy policy, and that a reasonable energy price policy can help improve efficiency.
However, Lai said the government should not increase electricity prices for households only, because the price for the industrial sector, which consumes much more of the nation’s electricity, is too low.
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
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
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
RSS