Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers yesterday agreed after a round of negotiations to ask Premier William Lai (賴清德) to deliver an oral report at the legislature in Taipei on May 10 about Wednesday’s shutdown of the No. 2 reactor at the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里).
Shortly after a legislative meeting began, members of the KMT caucus flocked to and occupied a podium where Lai was scheduled to answer questions from lawmakers.
They vowed to obstruct the proceedings until Lai agrees to give a report on Wednesday’s incident.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
They criticized the DPP administration for allowing the incident to happen, its “failing” energy policy and its plan to hike electricity prices next month.
The incident is believed to have been caused by the sensitivity of a steam valve in the reactor being set too high, prompting the unit to trip after rising pressure triggered the safety mechanism.
Lai and several members of the KMT and DPP caucuses later held closed-door negotiations on how the government should respond to the incident.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
In the afternoon, KMT lawmakers agreed to disperse to allow the question-and-answer session to proceed.
During the session, Lai confirmed that the caucuses had made an arrangement for him to brief lawmakers on May 10 about the incident.
Asked by KMT Legislator Yosi Takun (孔文吉) whether the incident was indicative of negligence on the part of state-run Taiwan Power Co and the Atomic Energy Council, Lai said the two agencies must be more careful when dealing with nuclear reactors.
Prior to the meeting, the premier told reporters that the government would make safety its top priority, respect professional decisions and follow standard operating procedure in its effort to bring the reactor back online.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
RSS