If the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant is restarted and an accident occurs, economic activity in Pingtung County might cease, Pingtung County Commissioner Chou Chun-mi (周春米) of the Democratic Progressive Party said at a protest in Pingtung City yesterday.
Chou and representatives of local agricultural, fisheries and tourism operations attended the rally, urging “no” votes in a referendum on Saturday that asks whether the plant in Hengchun Township (恆春) on the southern coast should be restarted.
Pingtung residents are opposed to the referendum, Chou said.
Photo: Tsai Yung-chien, Taipei Times
“Agriculture, fisheries and tourism are the basis of the county’s economy,” she said. “If an accident happens at the plant, no tourists would visit, and no one would buy our farm produce and seafood products.”
Pingtung residents shouldered the risk of an accident for four decades while the plant was generating electricity, and now there has been a rush to hold a referendum, she said.
Hung Ming-tsung (洪銘聰), who is secretary-general of the Kaoshu Township (高樹) Farmers’ Association, told reporters that a nuclear disaster in the south would affect all of Taiwan.
“Farmers have to endure the vagaries of the weather, but if there were to be an incident at the plant, it could ruin their livelihoods,” Hung said.
“It would also severely affect the nation’s food supply,” he said. “If a bad thing happens at the plant, it would be disastrous for Pingtung and also for the rest of Taiwan.”
Chen Yen-chih (陳彥志), owner of Sweet Shrimps Co (蝦正甜水產), said that fishers depend on the sea for their income.
“If there were an accident at the plant, seafood might be contaminated, then no one would buy from us,” Chen said.
“It is gambling with our livelihoods and the security of future generations,” Chen said. “We want to have healthy food on the table and we refuse to gamble away our future.”
At the legislature in Taipei, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) told lawmakers that if a policy directive mandates restarting operations at the plant, then Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) would have to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the facility.
It would have to present a report on the steps required to restart operations that would have to be reviewed by international nuclear energy regulatory bodies, which would have to conduct on-site inspections, Kuo said.
“President William Lai (賴清德) has been clear that nuclear energy safety cannot be decided by a referendum,” Kuo said.
Lai believes that restarting plants must adhere to “two musts” and “three principles,” Kuo said.
The “two musts” are that the Nuclear Safety Commission must carefully set out the inspection requirements, and Taipower must abide by the requirements, he said.
The “three principles” are totally safe operations, a solution for storage of spent nuclear fuel and societal consensus, he added.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) fraud conviction and prison sentence were yesterday overturned by a Hong Kong court, in a surprise legal decision that comes soon after Lai was jailed for 20 years on a separate national security charge. Judges Jeremy Poon (潘兆初), Anthea Pang (彭寶琴) and Derek Pang (彭偉昌) said in the judgement that they allowed the appeal from Lai, and another defendant in the case, to proceed, as a lower court judge had “erred.” “The Court of Appeal gave them leave to appeal against their conviction, allowed their appeals, quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences,” the judges
RSS