President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of June 25 with a delegation of Japanese scholars and experts who are participating in a forum on conditions in Japan in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station incident. In addition to explaining the enhanced safety measures and other actions adopted at Taiwan's nuclear power facilities since the Fukushima nuclear accident, the president stressed that the government would rather sacrifice nuclear power than risk a nuclear accident.
In remarks, President Ma noted that delegation member Michio Ishikawa is a senior advisor to the Japan Nuclear Technology Institute, and served on international committees that looked into the Three Mile Island Accident in the United States in 1979 and the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident in Russia in 1986. Mr. Ishikawa, the president said, is an authority on nuclear power safety. And delegation member Masao Nakamura, he said, is a former editorial writer for the Yomiuri Shimbun who, after completing a 40-year career as a journalist, established an organization that provides unbiased nuclear power-related information to the Japanese public. The president expressed admiration for these two gentlemen's work.
President Ma stated that two years ago the Fukushima nuclear accident shocked the world, raising alertness to nuclear safety issues among nations that have nuclear power plants. Taiwan has been no exception, he said. In addition to boosting its safety and accident prevention measures, the president pointed out, the government has introduced a policy whereby, under the three principles of "no power rationing, maintaining reasonable power prices, and making good on our pledges to the international community to reduce carbon emissions," it will "ensure nuclear safety, gradually reduce reliance on nuclear power, and create a green power and low-carbon environment to become a nuclear-free country step by step."
The president specially mentioned three reasons that Taiwan, more than other countries, paid such close attention to the Fukushima nuclear accident. First, he said, Taiwan and Japan are alike in that they both lack domestic energy resources. Taiwan relies on imports for 98% of its energy needs. Second, Taiwan and Japan are both island nations whose power grids are not linked to those in other countries, which means that electricity cannot be imported in this manner, he added. Third, Taiwan and Japan are both situated along the so-called Ring of Fire in the Pacific, making them susceptible to volcanoes and frequent earthquakes, he said. As a result, maintaining nuclear power plant safety in Taiwan and Japan is a tougher task than in other countries, the president stated.
President Ma mentioned that indigenous energy resources provide less than 2% of Taiwan's energy needs. He said that the government is looking to diversify the nation's energy sources and become more energy-independent. At present, he stated, 40% of Taiwan's power is generated from coal, with natural gas accounting for 30%, and nuclear power 18.4%. The remainder, including hydropower, biomass, wind power, and solar power, are renewable energy sources, he said.
President Ma stressed that in the face of the disaster caused by the Fukushima nuclear accident, the government has already instituted tighter safety measures at existing nuclear power plants here as well as the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant now under construction. He said that these facilities have undergone the most thorough inspections in their history. In addition to various safety and prevention measures that were already in place, such as making sure that the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant is 500 meters away from the shore (in comparison with the 100-meter distance at Fukushima Daiichi), and the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant's 12-meter elevation above sea level, which is higher than Fukushima Daiichi, the government has also outfitted the facility with emergency pumps and portable power sources, he noted. Also, the plant under construction here has a 105-meter high and 48,000-tonne raw water reservoir that can be used in emergencies to provide cooling, the president added.
President Ma noted that the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station couldn't withstand the tsunami, while the Onagawa Nuclear Power Station, which was closer to the epicenter of the earthquake, suffered less damage as it was designed to withstand tsunamis. The Fourth Nuclear Power Plant here has thus further strengthened its safety by including the planned construction of a 2.5-meter high tsunami wall, along with the establishment of a set of Ultimate Response Guidelines. When there is a possibility of an emergency or a release of radiation, the government would rather sacrifice the nuclear power plant to prevent a nuclear disaster. President Ma remarked that nuclear power plants here are already undergoing testing and drills, adding that these extraordinary measures can be completed within 46 minutes.
After completing his remarks, the president and the guests then discussed the impact on Japan of the government's suspension of operations at 48 nuclear power units throughout that nation in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. They also exchanged opinions on whether changes will be made to Japan's nuclear power policy in the future.
The delegation included Mr. Ishikawa, Mr. Nakamura, and Mr. Noboru Takamura. The group was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Association of East Asian Relations Chairman Lee Chia-chin (李嘉進) and Taiwan Power Company Chairman Hwang Jung-Chiou (黃重球) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Philip Y. M. Yang (楊永明).