An environmental advocate urged Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs to pursue swift demolition of a controversial pier. Yang Mu-huo, secretary-general of the Fourth Nuclear Plant Dismantling Advocacy Group, made this call last week. He argued that demolition would help halt ongoing beach erosion near Gongliao District.
Construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant began in 1999, sparking concerns about coastal damage. Environmental groups have long argued the pier disrupts longshore drift, eroding nearby beaches significantly. Yanliao and Fulong beaches have suffered substantial sand loss since construction started decades ago.
According to Yang, dune heights near Yanliao have dropped from roughly 20 meters to under 11. He cited a 1995 Taiwan Power Company report documenting these dramatic elevation changes over time. Taipower, however, maintains that typhoons and reduced river sand flow also contributed to erosion.
Last Tuesday, the ministry held a meeting with residents and environmental groups regarding beach recovery efforts. Nevertheless, officials refused to add pier demolition specifically to the discussion’s agenda. Instead, the ministry announced plans to establish a new committee addressing these ongoing concerns.
That committee will convene soon to organize its operations and review outstanding issues. Yang criticized authorities for allegedly withholding critical monitoring data from inspectors for years. He said data only became public after he sought assistance from the Ministry of Environment.
This dispute traces back to 2003, when Taipower opted to preserve the pier permanently. That same year, the Executive Yuan established a committee investigating coastal erosion near these beaches. Then in 2023, former president Tsai Ing-wen ordered further inspection and planning regarding the pier’s impact.
Ultimately, that inspection group concluded natural coastal processes explained observed erosion and accretion patterns. However, Yang insists Taipower withheld crucial internal data from that earlier investigation entirely. Moving forward, pressure will likely continue building for transparency and decisive action regarding demolition.
