Pingtung County residents today protested against a national referendum that could lead to the reactivation of the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant.
Holding banners outside the Pingtung County Council, more than 20 people criticized the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party for proposing the referendum without consulting locals.
Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) last week said that the referendum would read: “Do you agree that the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should resume operations, provided it is deemed safe by the relevant authorities?”
Photo: CNA
The nuclear plant — which operated for 40 years before being shut down in May — is located on a geological fault line, said Chiang Kuo-liang (江國樑), honorary chairman of a Pingtung culture and education development association.
While it was operational, the plant's safety relied on "the blessings of the gods," Chiang said sarcastically.
The plant's aging equipment, seismic resistance and nuclear waste disposal are all critical issues that must be addressed before it can be restarted, said Lin Ya-wen (林雅文), president of a community college.
Citing Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster, bookstore founder Weng Chen-hsia (翁禎霞) said that such incidents affect generations to come.
"Energy issues are complicated matters that require immediate attention and should not be decided by a hasty referendum," Weng said.
The issue is about people’s rights and should not be voted on, said Pingtung County Councilor Hung Ming-chiang (洪明江), a member of the Democratic Progressive Party.
Pingtung residents have lived in fear for 40 years, and they have the right to oppose reactivating the nuclear power plant, he said.
The main text of the referendum is unreasonable, Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan director Lee Ken-cheng (李根政) said.
No one can ensure the nuclear power plant is absolutely safe, he said, urging people to vote “no.”
Five public forums are to be held from Aug. 7 to discuss the proposal to restart the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, ahead of the referendum on Aug. 23, the Central Election Commission has said.
Additional reporting by Fion Khan
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
RSS