Ma urges Lai to seriously consider nuclear power

• By Shelley Shan / Journalist

Former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday urged President William Lai (賴清德) to take nuclear power seriously, after Lai said on Wednesday that Pegatron Corp Chairman Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), would be vice-president of his national climate committee. Change Response Committee.

Before his appointment, Tung said the government should extend the service years of the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County.

Next-generation nuclear reactors are also expected to be installed at the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant and the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, both located in New Taipei City, he added.

However, this stance is contrary to the views of Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has long advocated a “nuclear-free homeland.”

Lai should seriously consider nuclear power if he hires Tung, Ma wrote on Facebook yesterday.

“Nvidia Corp co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) announced during his recent visit to Taiwan that he plans to expand his investments in Taiwan, but he is concerned about whether the electricity would be enough to power how a supercomputer works,” Ma wrote. “People didn’t expect a power outage in Neihu Science Park. Huang’s fear came true.

The DPP has been opposed to the development of nuclear power since the days of former DPP Chairman Lin I-hsiung (林義雄), he said.

“For decades, the party has included the anti-nuclear movement among its political programs. However, since Tung, whom the party respected, came out in favor of developing nuclear power, the DPP suddenly doesn’t know what to do,” Ma said.

In 2022, twenty-eight EU members passed a resolution recognizing nuclear power as green energy, which was a blow to those who opposed its use, Ma said.

More and more countries are following in the EU’s footsteps, Ma said, adding that support for nuclear energy is leading the trend.

“I met former US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz at the inauguration evening of former Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes. I asked him if a nuclear accident, like that at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in 2013, would harm the development of nuclear energy, to which Moniz replied: “Remember, our enemy is coal , not nuclear,” Ma wrote.

Lai should have the public’s well-being in mind and address power shortages – a national security crisis – with honesty, so they don’t need to spend all summer worrying electricity, Ma said.

Ma Ying-jeou Culture and Education Foundation Director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) also questioned the practicality of the National Climate Change Response Committee in a radio interview.

“In the event of a power outage, who should be held responsible: the Prime Minister or the committee set up by the President? » asked Hsiao.