OPPOSING SIDES: A petition to scrap the ‘nuclear-free’ law has gained vocal support from up to 1,700 people, while anti-nuclear groups are to stage a protest on Sunday

Taipei Times
DATE: Mar 06, 2018
By: Lin Chia-nan  /  Staff reporter

The Atomic Energy Council yesterday approved Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower, 台電)

application to restart a nuclear reactor, despite strong opposition from environmentalists.

The state-run utility on Feb. 5 filed an application with the council to restart the No. 2 reactor at the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里).

The reactor’s operational license is valid from March 15, 1983, to March 14, 2023, and, if restarted, it is expected to generate 985 megawatts of electricity.

Many environmentalists have objected to the plan, saying it is dangerous to restart an old nuclear reactor that was damaged soon after it was restarted on May 16, 2016.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-03-04

The air quality in the central and northern parts of western Taiwan was generally rated

“unhealthy” on Sunday. The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said that was due to a lack of wind to disperse atmospheric pollutants, much of which came from the lighting of firecrackers during the Lantern Festival celebrations.

As of noon, the EPA’s Air Quality Index (AQI) flashed a red warning, indicating unhealthy air for the general public, in parts of southwestern Taiwan. Those areas included Changhua’s Hsienhsi and Erlin Townships, as well as Yunlin’s Lunbei Township.

Meanwhile, 28 monitoring stations along the west coast and in northern and central Taiwan flashed an orange warning, signaling unhealthy air for sensitive groups. That included 13 stations in the Greater Taipei area    [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2018/03/04
By: Eryk Smith

The DPP’s quirky nomination process will all but secure the seat of the next mayor of

Kaoshiung.

Let me make a not-so risky prediction: The next mayor of Kaohsiung will be whomever the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) nominates, a process that should be wrapped up by March 10th.

Here are the final four:

Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁),53, is a DPP legislator representing the 3rd City District. A former doctor from Keelung, Chen is currently the party’s spokesperson and has been a lawmaker since 1996. He served as acting Kaohsiung mayor for just under nine months in 2007. Chen has strong DPP credentials and the reported support of several influential blue-collar labor associations.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/03/04
By: Wu Hsin-yun and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, March 4 (CNA) Taiwan authorities said Sunday that they had obtained proof of an

Iranian container vessel illegally discharging oil into waters off the west coast in October 2017 and had imposed a fine of NT$1.5 million (US$51,000) on the owners.

The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said the evidence was obtained from satellite images that showed an oil slick of 60 kilometers behind the vessel, which was identified as the Iranian container ship the Sarvin.

The images indicated that the vessel had been discharging oil into the water for two to three hours and the accumulated volume was at least 5 metric tons, the EPA said.

It said the images were verified by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with which Taiwan maintains cooperative links on satellite monitoring of oil pollution in Taiwan’s waters.    [FULL  STORY]

APPEAL: A Japanese participant said Taiwan, the US, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines need to cooperate more closely on China and North Korea

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 05, 2018
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Taiwanese lawmakers joined their colleagues from Japan, South Korea and the

Philippines yesterday in Taipei calling for greater cooperation in maintaining regional peace and stability in the face of threats from China and North Korea.

Enhancing cooperation between Taiwan, the US, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines — especially in the area of information sharing — to counter Beijing’s influence is critical to the surveillance of China’s actions in the region, Japanese House of Representatives member Keisuke Suzuki told the East Asia Peace Forum.

That Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) could invade Taiwan is a “real threat,” the four-term lawmaker and member of the Liberal Democratic Party said.

China is a dictatorship where Xi’s legitimacy is contingent on whether he can create welfare and economic benefits for the people and deliver the “China dream,” Suzuki said on the second day of the forum, which was initiated by former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮).    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-03-03

Former President Ma Ying-jeou has traveled to Hualien County in eastern Taiwan to

encourage tourism to the area.

Hualien is popular with tourists for its scenic beauty and its variety of indigenous cultures. However, tourism has slumped since a deadly 6.0 earthquake struck the county on February 6.

Ma’s tour included stops in the famous Taroko Gorge, the highlight of eastern Taiwan’s Taroko National Park, as well as a local night market.

Ma said that Hualien is a safe and inexpensive place for tourists and encouraged those who have not been to Hualien before to visit.

Ma said that in order to recover from the earthquake, Hualien needs not just donations but visitors. Ma said he hopes that his efforts to promote Hualien’s tourism industry will help the area return to normal.   [FULL  STORY]

The bill passed the U.S. House and Senate with veto-proof majorities.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/03/03
By: David Green

The passage of the Taiwan Travel Act (TTA) through the U.S. Senate on Feb. 28 has been

greeted with much fanfare and has triggered posturing on both sides of the Strait, but the true measure of the law has yet to be taken.

While the TTA in theory allows high-level exchanges of government officials to take place both in Taiwan and the U.S., while also encouraging Taiwanese state institutions to promote business with local and federal U.S. officials, it is a purely symbolic document.

It remains to be seen whether the Trump administration follows through on the TTA’s underlying sentiment – to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to Taiwan – with meaningful action.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News  
Date: 2018/03/03
By: Central News Agency

Taipei, March 3 (CNA) Chang Chin-feng, the mother of President Tsai Ing-wen, has

passed away at the age of 93, the Presidential Office said Saturday.
A private funeral service attended by close family members only will be held for Chang, in keeping with her wishes, the office said in a statement, adding that President Tsai’s mother led a simple and unobtrusive lifestyle.

There will be no public memorial service, the office said, adding that any flowers, wreaths or other offerings by the public will be graciously declined.

Meanwhile, Tsai wishes to say thanks for the expressions of condolences on the passing of her mother, according to the statement.

The funeral is being planned by President Tsai’s elder brother, the office said.
[SOURCE]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/03/03
By: Elaine Hou and Kuan-lin Liu

Taipei, March 3 (CNA) Premier Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said Saturday that Taiwan will

increase its national defense budget in order to join neighboring countries in preserving regional peace.

Speaking at the first East Asia Peace Forum in Taipei, Lai said the major threats to stability in the Asia Pacific region are North Korea’s nuclear missile tests and China’s increasingly frequent military drills in the East and South China Seas.

In the face of such challenges, Lai said, Taiwan will increase its national defense budget to help with the efforts of other Asian countries to protect regional peace and will fully support the United Nations’ sanctions against North Korea.    [FULL  STORY]