Taiwan should go nuclear.But not the way North Korea or Iran is trying to do.We need more nuclear power to cut down on our greenhouse emissions.
But the government of the Democratic Progressive Party is planning to decommission Taiwan’s first nuclear power plant ahead of schedule.That would be the second most stupid decision the administration might make vis-à-vis its energy policy.It made the first mistake in 2000 by suspending construction of the fourth nuclear plant, triggering a political crisis facing President Chen Shui-bian whose impeachment the opposition alliance of the Kuomintang and the People First Party demanded.Chen weathered the crisis by resuming work on the power station, but Taiwan paid millions of dollars in penalty for delay to companies that have contracted to build it.The new plant has yet to become operational.
The ruling party wants to turn Taiwan into a “nuclear-free, green” island.All are agreed that Taiwan should remain a green island and nuclear free, if possible.It is impossible.Taiwan needs electric power to power the economy.The island has exhausted its hydroelectric power resources.It relies heavily on fossil fuel for generating the needed power.Alternative resources, except nuclear power, are not commercially available.Like it or not, we have to tap more nuclear energy to sustain our economic development.
And Taiwan is not alone in need of nuclear power.The United Kingdom is switching to nuclear energy.Japan and South Korea are now relying on nuclear power for a third of their energy supply.In France, the reliance tops 78 percent, albeit part of the electricity is exported to Italy, where nuclear power is outlawed by a referendum.Even Ukraine, where a nuclear disaster hit Chernobyl 20 years ago, resumed nuclear power generation in 2006.As a matter of fact, 30 countries around the world, save Taiwan, have increased their combined nuclear power supply by three percent from 2002 through 2006.
Aside from building new nuclear power plants, practically every developed country is trying to make its existing ones remain commissioned longer.No one wants to decommission nuclear power stations ahead of time.With oil prices as high as they are now and the Kyoto Protocol to observe, no countries can afford to take those stations off commission prematurely.
Taiwan is not a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol.But it has to reduce carbon dioxide emissions just the same.If not, it will face heavy economic sanctions.They may put Taiwan back to the bad old year 2000, when its economy shrunk for the first time in more than half a century.
We earnestly urge the government to keep the first nuclear power plant in operation for as long as it was designed to stay.The government should also study the feasibility of extending its commission and building more nuclear-powered stations to help keep our national competitiveness.
（本文刊載於96.04.30 China Post第4版，本文代表作者個人意見）
王順民
劉新圓
