Investigations into allegations that an Italian businessman helped North Korea to dump radioactive nuclear waste in the ocean near Taiwan have been inconclusive, the Atomic Energy Council said on Friday.
Italian media cited declassified documents from an Italian intelligence service as saying that Giorgio Comerio, who is suspected of trafficking nuclear materials, allegedly disposed of 200,000 barrels of North Korean radioactive waste in the ocean near Taiwan in the 1990s and was paid US$227 million.
Council Vice Minister Chiou Syh-tsong (邱賜聰) said that the reports could not be confirmed and could be a mistake on the part of the Italian intelligence service, as state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) in the 1990s planned to ship 200,000 barrels of radioactive waste to North Korea.
However, Chiu said the possibility that the barrels were dumped near Taiwan could not be ruled out and the council would continue to push for radiation monitoring in the Taiwan Strait.
Based on the available information, “we could not rule out the possibility of dumping and will continue to monitor the Taiwan Strait,” Chiu said.
According to council data, radiation levels in waters near Keelung and Kaohsiung are normal.
Radiation tests of marine life offshore and in fish markets have also been normal, but the council does not have information on radiation levels in the Taiwan Strait, Chiu said.
However, the International Atomic Energy Agency has not detected abnormal levels of radiation in the Taiwan Strait, Chiu said.
Chiu said that the council has not seen the declassified documents from Italy, but personnel stationed overseas have continued to work on the matter.
He said that Taiwan has not sent any radioactive waste overseas and all waste is stored on Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) or within the nation’s three operational nuclear power plants.
A civic group accused the council of trying to hoodwink the public.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
RSS