Taiwan Lawmakers Brawl in Parliament Over Nuclear Plant Vote

[Yo_Mama]

Not a lot of enthusiasm for nuclear power evident here:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-02/taiwan-lawmakers-brawl-in-parliament-over-nuclear-plant-vote.html

Taiwan lawmakers put each other in headlocks and wrestled on the floor of the legislature as the opposition party moved to occupy the president’s pulpit in a bid to stave off a vote on a nuclear power plant.

Democratic Progressive Party legislators, who oppose further construction of the plant in northern Taiwan, grappled with ruling party Kuomintang lawmakers today, local cable news networks reported.

The fight on the floor of the Taiwanese parliament did delay the vote, and there may be a popular referendum to decide the fate of the plant. Taiwanese manufacturers seem to favor expansion of nuclear power due to fears of rising power costs. The population probably does not.

[wtmusic]

1. The anti-nuclear movement is noisier

but the population is evenly split.

Despite 58 percent of respondents being against the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, more than half were not against keeping the three operational plants
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter

"A public opinion survey released yesterday showed that Taiwanese are more opposed to the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District than the use of nuclear energy in general, with nearly 60 percent of respondents saying they opposed completing the construction of the plant and 50 percent saying they were against nuclear power.

The survey was conducted by Taiwan Indicator Survey Research between Wednesday and Thursday last week, and focused on nuclear issues. The poll followed nationwide anti-nuclear demonstrations that drew 200,000 participants over the weekend and was released yesterday on the second anniversary of the meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in 2011.

When asked about Taiwan’s use of nuclear energy, the poll found that 52.5 percent of respondents did not disapprove of keeping the three nuclear power plants currently in operation running, but did not want any new plants to be built, with 18.5 percent saying that all nuclear power plants should be shut down, 12 percent supporting the construction of new plants and 17 percent saying they had no opinion on the matter."

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/771157.shtml#.UfvDsFOa3nA

Taiwan public not ready for green power

"Before the hikes in May 2012, the Taiwan public enjoyed blissful conditions indeed when it came to electricity prices, as they were the lowest in the whole of Asia. Government-owned Taiwan Power Company generated losses, but whichever government was in power in Taiwan, it did not dare to raise rates significantly for fear of punishment at the election booths.

Unsurprisingly, the outcome was environmentally unfriendly, as electricity was wasted by industry, businesses and households. To give examples, many Taipei banks do not bother closing their doors in the stiflingly hot summers, so that entire city boulevards are cooled by the breeze of their air conditioners. And insulated windows for residential property are virtually unheard of on the island."

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CDwQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.globaltimes.cn%2Fcontent%2F771157.shtml&ei=P8L7Ua_GD4XmiwKblIGgDw&usg=AFQjCNH6Pu4DrloBmDDaRYhYPIHEkWJS5A&sig2=jWOgWS4QNLJXXQ2DhYoFCw&bvm=bv.50165853,d.cGE

As in Japan, the Taiwanese face a shrill wakeup call if they think they can kill nukes, not pay more, and remain "green".