The Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮), which is to be shuttered next month, is seeing its living quarters and storage areas overrun by wild animals, because of the greatly reduced number of staff supervising the facility.
Covering 480 hectares and staffed by 400 workers, the plant is beginning to be invaded by packs of feral dogs and even deer, workers said.
The dogs are a particular problem, as they are aggressive and sometimes chase the workers, while Formosan Reeve’s muntjac deer stroll about the facility as if they own the place, and even take shelter under the eaves of staff dormitories, a worker said.
A plant employee said that he was a young man when he started work at the plant, yet the years flashed past and he is now ready to collect his pension, while the facility he has spent his working life servicing is set for what might be an early retirement.
He now wonders if he will have the opportunity to witness the day of its unsealing, he said.
The power plant was built — to near completion — at a cost of about NT$283.8 billion (US$9.13 billion).
However, due to growing concerns and protests over its safety, triggered by the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster in March 2011, in April last year the government announced a plan to suspend work on the plant.
In order to maintain the option of reopening the plant, the decision was taken to shutter the facility, with preparations due to be completed on June 30, and on July 1 it is to officially enter storage mode.
Under the three-year storage plan, supplies and maintenance fees are expected to add up to about NT$3.4 billion.
There are 30 systems that are to be placed in dry storage, the reactors and the cooling water system are to be sealed in wet storage, and the rest of the systems are to be kept running, or run on a periodic basis to maintain working order.
The 115 systems associated with the No. 2 reactor are to be placed in dry storage, as it has not yet been completed.
State-owned Taiwan Power Co spokesman Lin Te-fu (林德福) said that all the plant’s equipment would be maintained in the best condition possible, while “waiting for an opportunity” for a referendum that would decide whether to unseal it.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated