A two-day National Energy Conference is set to kick off at the Taipei World Trade Center on Monday. A total of 173 representatives from academia, industry, civic groups, and the government are set to discuss the nation’s energy policies. The conference will be broadcast live on the internet, allowing online users to post messages about the topics being discussed.
The energy conference is part of a pledge that President Ma Ying-jeou made in April of last year. The president announced that the nation’s controversial fourth nuclear power plant would undergo safety checks and then would be mothballed pending a conference and referendum.
Opponents of the plant, which has yet to go into operation, have raised safety concerns, especially in light of the Fukushima disaster in Japan, and the fact that Taiwan is located in an earthquake-prone region. President Ma and his administration say they support creating a nuclear free homeland. However, they also back the use of the fourth nuclear power plant, which they say is necessary for meeting Taiwan’s electricity needs.
Meanwhile, the Green Citizen’s Action Alliance and about ten other anti-nuclear groups are planning to stage a protest to coincide with the conference.