Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has reportedly said that the time for the anti-nuclear movement has passed and that restarting construction on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮) is necessary to deal with Taiwan’s power shortage problems.
All Taiwan needs to do is fly in nuclear fuel rods, which would generate electricity for 18 months, Ma said.
This is one of several myths that members of the pan-blue camp are perpetuating. The Chinese phrase commonly used for describing the plan omits the word “construction,” and therefore erroneously implies that construction is finished and the plant is ready to operate. The question would just be whether to “reactivate” it.
Construction on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant was not completed when it was mothballed, and it was the longest nuclear power plant construction project in the world. The budget was increased initially from NT$169.7 billion (US$6.12 billion at the current exchange rate) to NT$283.9 billion.
The project was initially divided into more than 1,000 separate projects, and has seen a budget freeze, redesign, construction problems, embezzlement, suspension and restarting of construction, and postponement. This Frankensteinian approach is a hazard itself.
Moreover, the biggest myth in the the pan-blue camp’s pro-nuclear power narratives relates to the plant’s location.
The world-leading science journal Nature in its April 2011 issue published a highly recommended article titled “Reactors, residents and risk” by staff writer Declan Butler, which reveals the relationship between the locations of nuclear power plants and population density. The main points are as follows:
First, two-thirds of the world’s nuclear power plants — 211 at the time — had more people living within 30km of them than Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, which had 172,000 living within that radius. Twenty-one plants had populations larger than 1 million living within that radius, and six had populations larger than 3 million.
Second, Pakistan’s Karachi Nuclear Power Plant had the most people — 8.2 million — living in its proximity, although it has just one relatively small reactor.
Taiwan’s nuclear power plants had the next-biggest populations living within 30km.
The Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) had 5.5 million people within 30km, and the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Shihmen District (石門) had 4.7 million, both with reactors many times larger than the Karachi plant.
Taipei is within 30km of both plants, which the article described as “scary.”
Third, reactor safety depends above all on a “culture of security,” including the quality of maintenance and training, the competence of the operator and the workforce, and the rigor of regulatory oversight.
Some Taiwanese nuclear power advocates are without a doubt “overconfident.”
James Carville, a political strategist of former US president Bill Clinton, coined the phrase “it’s the economy, stupid.”
Likewise, members in the pan-blue camp should consider the phrase “it’s the location, stupid.” Taiwan remains the only country with its capital and more than 5 million people living within 30km of nuclear power plants.
Does the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) wish that these 5 million people live in fear?
For the safety of Taiwan and its people, I will vote “no” on the referendum question on restarting construction on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
Please join me in doing so.
Jerry Liu is the New Power Party’s international affairs department director and a former diplomat.
Translated by Rita Wang
Although former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo — known for being the most pro-Taiwan official to hold the post — is not in the second administration of US president-elect Donald Trump, he has maintained close ties with the former president and involved himself in think tank activities, giving him firsthand knowledge of the US’ national strategy. On Monday, Pompeo visited Taiwan for the fourth time, attending a Formosa Republican Association’s forum titled “Towards Permanent World Peace: The Shared Mission of the US and Taiwan.” At the event, he reaffirmed his belief in Taiwan’s democracy, liberty, human rights and independence, highlighting a
The US Department of Defense recently released this year’s “Report on Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China.” This annual report provides a comprehensive overview of China’s military capabilities, strategic objectives and evolving global ambitions. Taiwan features prominently in this year’s report, as capturing the nation remains central to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) vision of the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” a goal he has set for 2049. The report underscores Taiwan’s critical role in China’s long-term strategy, highlighting its significance as a geopolitical flashpoint and a key target in China’s quest to assert dominance
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) last week released the latest job vacancy data in Taiwan, which highlighted how many job openings firms had yet to be filled at the end of August last year. The data also revealed how the vacant positions were closely related to the business climate that industrial and services sectors faced at the time. The DGBAS collects data on job vacancies at the end of February, May, August and November every year. The number of job vacancies includes recruits for expanding operations and additional production lines as well as for openings related to
The Legislative Yuan passed legislation on Tuesday aimed at supporting the middle-aged generation — defined as people aged 55 or older willing and able to work — in a law initially proposed by Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Wu Chun-cheng (吳春城) to help the nation transition from an aged society to a super-aged society. The law’s passage was celebrated by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the TPP. The brief show of unity was welcome news, especially after 10 months of political fighting and unconstitutional amendments that are damaging democracy and the constitutional order, eliciting concern
RSS