President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of November 26 with Japanese scholars and experts participating in the 30th Sino-Japanese Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium. In addition to praising the symposium as an important platform for interaction between engineers in the two countries, the president also spoke about what the government has achieved through its energy safety and flood prevention policies, and what it hopes to do in the future.
In remarks, President Ma first stated that the distinguished engineers Wu Bo-zhen (吳伯楨), Wang Shu-fang (王樹芳), and Wu Jian-qin (吳劍琴) launched the Sino-Japanese Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in 1980, and that this year marks the 30th edition of the event. Over the years some 1,200 Japanese experts and scholars have enthusiastically taken part in the symposium.
The president stated that 17 discussion topics were planned for this year's symposium, including telecommunications, materials, nanotechnology, textiles, and construction technology. At the same time, he said, two speeches will be delivered to address pressing issues facing the two nations, including nuclear energy and climate change. He expressed confidence that the event will help each side learn about the other's experiences in energy conservation and disaster preparedness, and technologies they use.
President Ma further explained that Taiwan relies on imports for over 98% of its energy, which is similar to Japan, so conserving energy and reducing carbon emissions are important tasks for both nations. The president pointed out that over the past five years, the public and private sectors here have saved a total of 20 terawatt hours of electricity, or one-fifth of Taiwan's total energy consumption and more than the total amount generated by Taiwan's Second Nuclear Power Plant all last year.
Commenting on flood prevention and disaster preparedness, President Ma noted that since 2008 Taiwan's government has spent some NT$85 billion on work to prevent floods. It is expected that these efforts by the end of this year will improve the situation for 538 square kilometers of flood-prone land in Taiwan, and starting from next year the government will allocate a special budget of NT$60 billion for six consecutive years to complete a broader flood prevention plan and attain better success in its flood prevention work.
The government is also very concerned about land subsidence, and is allocating large amounts of manpower and resources to improve the situation, he said, noting that the area of land experiencing subsidence has fallen from 499 square kilometers in 2011 to 195 square kilometers today, which equates to a 60% reduction of the land area where this problem exists.
Regarding the topic of this year's symposium – safety measures at nuclear plants, the president noted, Taiwan and Japan are both island nations situated along the Pacific Ocean earthquake belt, and both are unable to import electricity from other countries, so neither can afford to exclude any energy source from its energy mix. President Ma mentioned that Taiwan currently relies on coal for 41% of its electricity needs, natural gas for 30%, nuclear energy for 18.4%, and other renewable energies such as hydro, wind, and solar power, for the remainder.
Discussing the Fukushima nuclear accident, the president said that Taiwan's Legislative Yuan once sent a delegation on a fact-finding mission to the Onagawa Nuclear Power Station, which is closer to the epicenter of the earthquake yet suffered absolutely no damage when tsunamis hit the area. In addition, over the past two years, the government here has instituted enhanced measures to ensure the safety of nuclear plants here, he said. The Fourth Nuclear Power Plant is outfitted with emergency pumps and portable power sources, the president pointed out, adding that the government is increasing the height of a tsunami wall to protect the facility. In addition, he stated, the government has adopted a set of Ultimate Response Guidelines for Nuclear Power Plants. When there is a possibility of an emergency, he said, nuclear power plants will be rendered inoperable without hesitation to prevent any leakage of radiation, because "there can be no nuclear power without nuclear safety."
President Ma mentioned that this year's symposium is also exploring broadband network construction, as well as efforts to strengthen cooperation with neighboring countries in the field of engineering. He said he is sure that this will help to boost the exchange of experiences and the level of technology cooperation between Taiwan and Japan, thereby strengthening bilateral friendship. Lastly, the president noted that Taiwan's National Palace Museum next year is scheduled to exhibit items from its collection in Tokyo and Fukuoka. President Ma said he hopes the Japanese visitors attending the symposium will take advantage of their stay here to visit the museum and get a sneak peek at what is in store, thus getting a further feel for Taiwan's lively cultural and arts sector.
The delegation included Chinese Institute of Engineers President Jenn-Chuan Chern (陳振川), chairman of the preparatory committee of the 30th Sino-Japanese Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium John Chien-Chung Li (李建中), head of the Japanese delegation to the symposium Masahide Kawakami, and president of the Taiwan Science and Technology Association Yoshimasa Tokuyama.