Tokyo-based writer Liu Li-erh (劉黎兒) yesterday warned fellow Taiwanese about the perils of nuclear power by describing them as “sleeping on top of 230,000 nuclear bombs.”
Liu, who has lived in Tokyo for more than 30 years, made the remarks in a speech about nuclear power safety at an event organized by the Eball Foundation, which is headed by Democratic Progressive Party Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌).
Liu said that her calculation was based on the size of the atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima by the US near the end of World War II.
“A nuclear reactor produces on a daily basis radioactive materials equivalent to three to four times the amount contained in the Hiroshima atomic bomb,” she said.
“Taiwan has six operating nuclear reactors. So every day that nuclear power is generated, Taiwan produces nuclear waste materials equivalent to 20 times the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima,” Liu added.
In the aftermath of the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011, which led to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster, Liu has became an outspoken critic against nuclear energy and has published three books advocating that Taiwan should stop using nuclear power.
Liu said that the international community has raised several warnings about the safety of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Gongliao District (貢寮) since the Fukushima disaster.
She added that more than 220,000 people took part in anti-nuclear demonstrations held across Taiwan on March 9 this year.
“This shows that people do not want Taiwan to become the next Fukushima,” she said.
“Nuclear power safety concerns all people in Taiwan. We must learn from the lessons of the Fukushima disaster,” she added. “If nuclear power is not stopped, I fear that our next generation may not have a future.”
Construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant started in 1999 and the facility was scheduled to become operational in 2015. Construction is about 90 percent completed and has become the subject of an intense political struggle, because opposition groups have demanded that it be stopped and that nuclear power be abandoned.
Additional reporting by CNA
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
RSS