Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

In light of a recent slew of suicides, the government is mulling ordering stores to lock up charcoal to make it less readily available for people who want to commit suicide.

Considering that ingesting pesticide is a common form of suicide in southern Taiwan, the Department of Health said it is also planning on asking pesticide manufacturers to set aside NT$1 for every kilogram of product sold to finance the production of cabinets with locks, again aiming to make it more difficult for people with suicidal tendencies to get their hands on the product.

Democratic Progressive Party legislators Yao Wen-chih, left, and Tien Chiu-chin, center, with Green Consumers’ Foundation chairman Jay Fang, hold a press conference outside the legislature in Taipei yesterday, calling on the government to suspend the operation of the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in Wanli District, New Taipei City, to allow a safety inspection.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times

Environmental protection groups and legislators yesterday urged the Atomic Energy Council to reject a proposal by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) to resume operations at the No. 1 reactor of the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in Wanli District (萬里), New Taipei City (新北市), saying that it should first explain why seven anchor bolts of the reactor were damaged.

During a temporary shutdown on March 16 for routine maintenance of the reactor, problems were discovered with some of the anchor bolts used to secure the bottom of the reactor to the steel-reinforced concrete substrate.