MAC wants nuclear safety discussed in next cross-strait talks
ROC Central News Agency
2011/03/30 13:37:40
By Kelven Huang and Lilian Wu
Taipei, March 30 (CNA) Taiwan will push for including nuclear safety on the agenda of the next round of cross-Taiwan Strait talks, the head of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Wednesday.
MAC Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan made the remarks at a legislative committee meeting in which legislators expressed concern about the increasing number of Chinese nuclear power plants being built in Chinese coastal areas opposite Taiwan.
Her remarks came a day after President Ma Ying-jeou expressed hope that nuclear safety will be top of the agenda in future cross-strait negotiations.
Ma noted that there are six nuclear power plants with more than 10 reactors across the strait from Taiwan, and that China is planning a further 27 such plants.
He also pointed out that Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is more than 2,000 km from Taiwan, while China is at most 200 km away. If any accidents occur in Chinese nuclear plants, the damage to Taiwan could be many times greater than the threat posed by Fukushima, Ma said.
"We have been pushing for work related to nuclear safety through cross-strait intermediary bodies," Lai said, referring to Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation and the Beijing-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits.
She said the council will do its best to promote the matter, which will require consensus on both sides of the strait.
Lai also said the two sides need to upgrade the issue to an official agenda so that an agreement can be signed in future talks.
"We have been working toward this, as it is important for the welfare for the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait," she said.
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