☢️ The “Political Exploitation” of Lanyu Nuclear Waste: Refuting Kolas Yotaka’s “Scientific Arrogance”
Nuclear Referendum No. 4’s proposer Huang Shih-xiu directly called out Presidential Spokesperson Kolas Yotaka for chickening out, refusing to debate Lanyu nuclear waste. Kolas posted the following on Facebook:
The authoritarian government forcibly placed nuclear waste in Lanyu—that’s a fact. The post-democratization government wants to remove the nuclear waste from Lanyu but faces opposition from other counties unwilling to accept it; now we can’t just dump it anywhere. That’s also a fact. Mocking others for not understanding science, therefore not knowing “radiation is harmless,” is scientific arrogance. “Science” cannot completely solve “social” problems. If Lanyu nuclear waste is moved, where will it go? What about nuclear waste from restarting Plant No. 4? Lanyu will ultimately triumph; green energy will replace nuclear.
📌 An Engineer’s Look at Politics: Please Stop Spreading Fear and Exploiting Lanyu
We all agree the Lanyu nuclear waste should be moved. To solve the Lanyu nuclear waste problem, it’s actually this simple: no site selection needed—just put the waste back at the nuclear plant itself, basically the plants have sufficient storage space and management is no problem.
In fact, Taiwan Power already planned to move Lanyu waste back to Taiwan’s nuclear plants, and the Atomic Energy Council approved Taiwan Power’s proposal in 2017, but the related legislative amendment proposal was killed by green-camp legislators in November of that year—the whole matter stalled.
By April this year, Tsai Ing-wen allocated NT$2.55 billion in compensation to Lanyu residents, still saying “this doesn’t mean we can recklessly dump nuclear waste in the future,” but on actually moving the waste? Not a word, no progress at all.
Hypocritical “Solution”: Money Instead of Action
I often say: to understand someone, don’t listen to what they say, watch what they do.
It’s obvious the Tsai government has no intention of solving the problem. Their behavior is simple: give money to Lanyu, then keep the nuclear waste there. Moreover, since 1996 when storage was full and no more waste went to Lanyu, she talks as if she’s the one who stopped future waste from going there.
Not only that, every time nuclear power issues surface, they exploit Lanyu for political gain, exactly like Kolas is doing now.
All I can say is: their mouths speak justice, their actions pursue interests.
☢️ The Double Standard on Nuclear Waste
Kolas asks where Nuclear Plant No. 4 waste should go—then I ask Kolas right back: where does medical, agricultural, industrial, and academic research nuclear waste go?
If waste is a reason to oppose Plant No. 4, shouldn’t all these applications producing nuclear waste also be stopped immediately and prohibited? If we can’t use nuclear medicine, what will replace it?
Does Kolas oppose nuclear waste, oppose Plant No. 4, or oppose science itself?
🧪 Science and Fear
As for “radiation is harmless,” it’s not arrogance—it’s the rigor and value of science. In fact we live with radiation every day; trains, high-speed rail, airplanes, cell phones, microwaves all have radiation. As long as doses stay below standard levels, there’s nothing to worry about.
If science cannot solve social problems, it’s precisely because people like these don’t respect science, instead spreading radiation fear.
♻️ Can Green Energy Replace Nuclear?
Renewable energy cannot replace nuclear power because intermittent sources cannot serve as base load power—this is basic energy knowledge. Moreover, the US recognizes nuclear as clean energy, so we don’t need to find alternatives to replace it. Nuclear is green energy.
Finally, Kolas, don’t claim Lanyu is victorious when you don’t even dare push for waste removal or debate it. What right do you have speaking for Lanyu? If you want to help Lanyu, work concretely from the ground up and stop spreading fear about nuclear waste and radiation.