Less than two weeks before a referendum that would decide whether Taiwan should reactivate its nuclear power sources, the second of five televised debates has opened up discussions about the possibility of renewable energy replacing nuclear.
00:00The second televised debate on whether to reactivate one of Taiwan's shut-down nuclear power plants has wrapped up.
00:06This time, pro- and anti-debaters zoom in on renewable energy sources as an alternative to nuclear energy.
00:12In the first round, pro-nuclear debater Kuomintang lawmaker Wong Xiaolin said rising cancer rates in the country are due to air pollution from burning coal, Taiwan's main source of energy.
00:23On the anti-nuclear side, Deputy CEO of the Office of Energy and Carbon Reduction, Lin Zilun brushed off the coal-related questions, saying renewable energy is the government's priority.
00:53But the pro-nuclear side came back, saying it's unlikely the economy can handle the high cost of renewable sources, on top of the state-run Taiwan power companies' existing deficits.
01:05And questions about the country's nuclear waste management were also raised.
01:27Lin says it's a burden future generations and people living next to the nuclear plants will have to carry.
01:32This concern again dismissed, with Wong saying there's now technology available to reduce the risk of nuclear waste.
01:53As in the first debate, they also touched on the risks earthquakes posed.
02:23in potentially causing a nuclear disaster, an issue likely to be brought up again in the next debates.
02:29Three more debates, including civic groups and lawmakers, will take place this week.
02:34With the referendum coming up on August 23rd, people here in Taiwan are tuning in to stay informed before they cast their ballots.
02:41Devin Tsai and Irene Lin in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.
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