As there is not enough information on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Gongliao District (貢寮) at present, the National Science Council will provide the necessary scientific information to the Ministry of Economic Affairs according to its needs, council Minister Cyrus Chu (朱敬一) said yesterday.
Lawmakers at the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee meeting yesterday questioned Chu about nuclear power issues, including his understanding about earthquakes caused by movements along a blind thrust fault like the magnitude 6.1 earthquake last week and how they would affect the power plant, as well as Chu’s attitude and the council’s role in the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant issue.
An official from the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering said that hundreds of earthquake monitoring stations had been installed across the nation, especially along fault lines, and the center has also begun conducting research on the nuclear power plants’ ability to withstand earthquakes in 2011.
However, there is no information yet on the anti-seismic capabilities of the still-to-be-completed power plant, the official said.
When asked by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator He Hsin-chun (何欣純) whether he would vote in the referendum to decide the fate of the nuclear power plant, Chu said: “Because there is not enough information on the issue, I will not vote.”
DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said if all officials chose not to vote, they would be doing what the Cabinet wants, because the referendum would not be able to pass the required 50 percent threshold and the plant would therefore be able to go into operation.
Chen added that it was not appropriate for officials to have doubts because of the lack of information.
Chu said voting is a personal decision that he would be making as a citizen, but that he hoped enough information on the issue would be available before the referendum takes place.
He added that the council has informed the ministry that it would assist in scientific research analysis on subjects such as geology, construction structure or tsunamis.
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
A firefighter yesterday died after falling into New Taipei City's Xindian River when a rescue dinghy capsized during a search mission for a man who was later found dead. The New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report at 4:12pm that a 50-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), had fallen into the river. A 32-year-old firefighter, surnamed Wu (吳), was among the rescuers deployed to look for Chen, the fire department said, adding that he and five other rescue personnel were in the dinghy when it capsized. Wu had no vital signs after being pulled from the water to the
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
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