Government officials yesterday dismissed as groundless a news report that state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) was planning to procure electricity from China, stressing the importance of maintaining self-sufficiency in energy.
The government has never considered procuring electricity from China, State-owned Enterprise Commission chief executive Liu Ming-chung (劉明忠) told a press conference at the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus office.
The Chinese-language United Evening News reported on Monday that Taiwan could turn to China for electricity procurement after decommissioning its three existing nuclear power plants, a process set to begin in 2018 and scheduled to be completed in 2025.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The report said the Ministry of Economic Affairs had instructed Taipower to conduct a feasibility study on the construction of a submarine transmission cable from China to Taiwan.
Liu said the news report was “groundless.”
Wang Yunn-ming (王運銘), deputy director-general of the ministry’s Energy Bureau, said his office was surprised at the news report and was looking into the source of the report.
“It’s an issue involving energy security risks. We should be cautious about the issue,” Wang said.
Taipower president Chu Wen-chen (朱文成) said that procuring electricity from China would not be a cost-effective solution.
As Taiwan uses 60Hz alternating current, while China uses 50Hz, the two sides would have to establish energy conversion stations, which would be expensive, Chu said.
He added that the nation should ensure energy self-sufficiency to strengthen security.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) today accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to lead a delegation to China next month, saying she hopes to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and bring stability to the Taiwan Strait. “I am grateful and happy to accept this invitation,” Cheng said in a statement from the KMT chairperson’s office. Cheng said she hopes both sides can work together to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, enhance exchange and cooperation, bring stability to the Taiwan Strait and improve people’s livelihoods. At today's news conference, Cheng said any efforts to
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
RSS