Nuclear plants a big security risk
By Henry Sokolski
As Taiwan’s August referendum on completing its Fourth Nuclear Power Plant approaches, one question that has not yet been fully considered is to what extent this and Taiwan’s other three plants are military liabilities radioactive targets that China aims to attack.
At best, a threatened strike or an intentional near-miss against one plant would likely force the government to shut the other nuclear plants down as a precaution. At worst, a strike could produce Chernobyl-like contamination, forcing the evacuation of millions.
Some partial, temporary defenses are possible and should be pursued, but ultimately, the smart money is on substituting non-nuclear alternatives for these reactors as soon as possible.
3 more referendum proposals meet signature requirements
05/07/2021 04:07 PM
CNA file photo
Taipei, May 7 (CNA) Three referendum proposals on the protection of the Datan algal reefs, pork imports containing ractopamine and referendum scheduling have recently received enough signatures for the petitions to pass, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said Friday.
However, a final decision on whether the three proposals will be put to a vote is expected to be announced May 14 after a review by the CEC.
If the three proposed referendums are officially passed, they are expected to be held on Aug. 28 along with a proposal on restarting Taiwan s mothballed Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, which was approved last year and is scheduled for a vote that day, according to the CEC.
Referendum proposals reach signature threshold
NATIONWIDE EVENTS: The KMT said it would hold events in 21 cities and counties to promote its proposals on the scheduling of referendums and pork import policy
Staff writer, with CNA
Referendum proposals on protecting the Datan algal reefs, barring pork imports containing ractopamine and how to schedule referendums have received enough signatures to advance, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said yesterday.
However, a final decision on whether the proposals would be put to a vote is expected on Friday next week, after a commission review, it said.
If the three proposed referendums are approved, they are expected to be conducted on Aug. 28 alongside a proposal to restart work on the mothballed Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮).
LNG plans already take measures to mind reefs
By Liou Je-wei 劉哲瑋
The government’s energy transition plan includes the nation’s third liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at the Guantang Industrial Park (觀塘工業區) off Datan Borough (大潭) in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音).
Because it is close to algal reefs, some environmental protection groups are promoting a referendum on the plan in an attempt to block construction of the terminal and protect the reefs.
To avoid a trainwreck, the Ministry of Economic Affairs on Monday announced that the terminal would be built a further 455m offshore at 1.2km. Doing so would eliminate the need for dredging in the reef area and minimize the impact of the construction on the environment.
KMT-led referendum proposals clear second hurdle
05/06/2021 10:09 PM
CNA file photo for illustrative purposes
Taipei, May 6 (CNA) Two referendum proposals initiated by the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) that seek to ban pork imports containing ractopamine and establish a path for future referendums have cleared the second hurdle, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said Thursday, bringing them one step closer to being put to the vote in August.
CEC Deputy Chairman Chen Chao-chien (陳朝建) told CNA on Thursday that the petitions for the two referendums passed the second-stage threshold after all the signatures submitted by the KMT in March were examined.
The CEC will convene a meeting on May 14 to determine whether the two proposals will be put to the vote on Aug. 28, added Chen.