Developing green energy is a global trend and should begin with local communities, advocates of renewable energy said yesterday, calling on nuclear power proponents such as former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) not to hinder Taiwan’s energy transformation.
At a news conference in Taipei yesterday, Mom Loves Taiwan chairwoman Gloria Hsu (徐光蓉) and Tai Yan-hui Cultural Education Foundation chief executive Chou Mei-hui (周美惠) blasted nuclear power supporters for proposing two referendums aimed at maintaining the nation’s nuclear power plants.
Initiated by Nuclear Myth Busters founder Huang Shih-hsiu (黃士修) and others, one proposals would ask voters if they agree with scrapping Article 95 of the Electricity Act (電業法), which stipulates that all nuclear facilities should be phased out by 2025.
The other proposal would ask whether voters agree to the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant starting operation.
Ma and former premiers Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) and Simon Chang (張善政), who have signed the referendum petitions, are impeding green energy development by spreading false information, such as that electricity prices would be hiked if the nuclear plants are decommissioned, Hsu said.
Several nuclear power plants in other nations have been closed after their operators were unable to afford their high maintenance costs, while worldwide, investments in renewable energy have surpassed those funding nuclear power, she said.
The government’s goal to phase out nuclear power facilities by 2025 is not a hurried decision, as some people have claimed, but rather too far in the future, Chou said.
The 78-year-old Chou, who used to teach design at Shih Chien University, is regarded as one of the nation’s forerunners for green energy after she introduced Germany’s ideas about energy transformation and recycling to Taiwan more than two decades ago.
Germany has been working to improve its power generation efficiency and pollution control facilities, while Taiwan’s petrochemical, steel and cement makers demand more energy, but are reluctant to curtail pollution, Chou said.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
An inauguration ceremony was held yesterday for the Danjiang Bridge, the world’s longest single-mast asymmetric cable-stayed bridge, ahead of its official opening to traffic on Tuesday, marking a major milestone after nearly three decades of planning and construction. At the ceremony in New Taipei City attended by President William Lai (賴清德), Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the bridge was hailed as both an engineering landmark and a long-awaited regional transport link connecting Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里)
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