Greenpeace Taiwan yesterday released a report about Japan’s failure to decontaminate radioactively polluted water following the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster, while calling on the Taiwanese government to take the problem into account when drafting energy policies.
The report on Tokyo Electric Power Co’s “water crisis” following the disaster was primarily written by Greenpeace Germany nuclear specialist Shaun Burnie.
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9 earthquake and subsequent tsunami triggered meltdowns at three of the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant’s six reactors, causing radiation leaks.
The firm in September last year said that its water processing system had failed to reduce radioactive contaminants to levels below the regulatory limits permissible for ocean discharge, the report said, adding that as of Dec. 13 last year, there were still 1.11 million cubic meters of contaminated water at the plant.
In some treated water, levels of strontium 90 were found to be more than 100 times the safety threshold, while other radioactive substances, such as cesium, cobalt, antimony and tritium, were detected in the water, it said.
The goal of the Japanese government and the company to solve the water crisis by next year is not credible, and volumes of contaminated water continue to increase, the report said, urging them to propose better wastewater disposal solutions and control groundwater contamination.
Given the issue’s pertinence in East Asia, the organization’s offices in South Korea and Japan publicized the same report yesterday, Greenpeace Taiwan energy campaigner Lee Chih-an (李之安) said.
The report exposes the astronomical costs of a nuclear disaster, and any nation that develops nuclear power should keep its potential risks and expenses in mind, Lee said.
While Taiwanese on Nov. 24 last year voted to abolish the “nuclear-free homeland by 2025” goal in a referendum, Greenpeace Taiwan believes that phasing out nuclear power is the right direction, although the time frame could be discussed further, she said.
The nation should continue to promote energy transformation by boosting renewable power development and decentralizing power grids, Lee added.
Tokyo Electric Power has vowed to develop offshore wind farm projects by working with Danish energy developer Orsted A/S, with the two having signed a memorandum of understanding last week.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by