The Legislative Yuan yesterday abolished a provision in Article 95 of the Electricity Act (電業法) stipulating that all nuclear energy generation facilities must stop operations before 2025.
The amendment was passed in compliance with the result of last year’s Referendum No. 16, which asked: “Do you agree that subparagraph 1, Article 95 of the Electricity City, which reads: ‘Nuclear-energy-based power-generating facilities shall wholly stop running by 2025,’ should be abolished?”
The referendum passed with 5.89 million “yes” votes and 4.01 million “no” votes.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The article now states that the government should set plans to move forward work on the final disposition of low-level nuclear waste, so as to deal with the low-level waste currently stored on Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼).
The National Nuclear Abolition Action Platform said that the result of the referendum does not mean the public is not concerned about nuclear power and the global trend toward renewable energy shows that using nuclear energy is by no means the right path.
The referendum does not affect the government’s goal of achieving a nuclear-power free homeland, the group said in a statement.
Citing opposition by local governments and the problem of nuclear waste disposal, Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) in January said that Taiwan would not extend the service life of its nuclear power plants.
He added that it would not finish the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, whose completion was blocked by popular opposition in 2014 and then mothballed.
Among Taiwan’s three active nuclear power plants, the first two are expected to be decommissioned by March 2023 and the third by May 2025.
Nuclear power supporters have argued that Taiwan should complete the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant or extend the service life of existing ones to safeguard against power shortages.
On March 19, they drafted a proposal for a new referendum question that would ask voters if they agree with completing the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant project and putting it into operation.
The proposal passed an initial screening and is awaiting verification of signatures by household registration offices.
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 first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
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,
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