David on Formosa

Taiwan’s Fourth Nuclear Power Plant under construction in August 2009 with Fulong Beach in the foreground. I had a letter in the Taipei Times today on the subject of nuclear power. It argues that the high cost and long lead times of nuclear power projects defers investment in cleaner and safer forms of electricity generation. [...]

I had a letter published in the Taipei Times today on the subject of the birth rate and population growth. Another letter by Brian Schack also makes the same point that I do. There is much talk in Taiwan about the urgent need to lift the birth rate, however there is little balance in the [...]

China has the 50 Cent Party (五毛黨) to regulate and control content on the internet. Now it seems Taiwan has its own version labelled the $5,000 Party (五千黨). The latter term was coined by convenor of the Taiwan Green Party Pan Han-shen (潘翰聲) on his blog in response to an incident where a group of 20 bloggers [...]

Thousands of people* marched through Taipei in a protest against the expansion of the petrochemical industry. They shouted “Oppose Kuokuang, save Taiwan!” (反國光，救台灣) as they marched. This was in reference to the Kuokuang Petrochemical Plant which is slated to be built off the coast of Changhua County. Large contigents travelled to Taipei from Changhua and [...]

There is a major environmental protest in Taipei this afternoon focused on the issue of Taiwan’s petrochemical industry. It begins at 2pm at the Zhongxiao-Fuxing MRT Station. Opposition to the petrochemical industry in Taiwan is frequently framed in terms of its impact on the health of workers and nearby residents, climate change or because of [...]

Michael Turton has posted an excellent interview with Dr Bruno Walther about biodiversity in Taiwan. Dr Walther is a visiting professor at Taipei Medical University and also works at the Taiwan Endemic Species Research Institute. In the interview he discusses some of the key challenges Taiwan faces to protect its biodiversity. Dr Walther and Klaus [...]