Mending Patches on Nuclear-free Myth Are Falling Off Fast

  Mending Patches on Nuclear-free Myth Are Falling Off Fast

United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

March 21, 2018

 Translation of an Excerpt

Within a short week, four mending patches have been falling off from the Tsai government’s myth of a “nuclear-free homeland.” The first patch is the passage, for formality’s sake, of restarting reactor No. 2 at Nuclear Power Plant No. 2 by the Legislative Yuan, slapping the very face of the “nuclear-free” myth. The second patch is that Chan Shun-kuei, deputy minister of the Environmental Protection Administration, abandoned his laurel of “environmental warrior,” casting the tie-breaking vote for reconstructing the coal-fired Shenao Power Plant. The third patch is that the Electricity Price Review Committee under the Ministry of Economic Affairs decided to hike electricity rates by 3 percent, breaking President Tsai’s pledge of “no hikes for a decade.” The fourth patch is Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) decided to ship to the original nuclear plant in the United States the fuel rods in Nuclear Power Plant No. 4 for resale or dismantling, meaning that the entire population will soon pay a price for the loss totaling nearly NT$300 billion for Nuclear Plant No. 4.

The falling off of these four patches explains that the Tsai government’s nuclear-free policy has reached an irrational point, causing chaotic moves as a result; evading and avoiding here and there, no one can detect the logic of its doings. Nuclear-free homeland was a slogan introduced during a campaign year, having strong populist motives; besides attacking the then Ma government, it also labeled itself as superior to others. However, the DPP, overwhelmed by victory at the polls, was on cloud nine, forgetting its true self, and feeling that it could be obstinate to the end. Now, seven years from the target 2025, in matters of power supply, air quality, fuel prices and environmental sustainability, unbearable phenomena have all appeared in Taiwan, forcing the Tsai government to make a choice between "bouncing the check" and “flip-flopping.”

How many other patches that are in varying degrees of falling off of the nuclear-free myth of the Tsai government, people may scrutinize themselves, including especially green energy that has been easily said but without progress. What is most worrisome is that in the beginning the nuclear-free policy was not erected on the basis of meticulous assessment and overall planning, so much so that the government has to implement it while amending all the way, revising, repairing, and oftentimes turning back, endlessly overdrafting Taiwan’s surpluses. For this reason, when Premier Lai spoke of "clean coal," do you believe he had thought it through?

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