Taishan Nuclear Power Plant, Guangdong Province, China (Photo: SCMP) Late on June 14, the US media reported that authorities in Washington spent a whole week assessing a report on a possible radioactive leak at the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant (Taishan). ) in Guangdong province, China, after a French company warned of an “imminent radiation threat”. Responding to the news, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian confirmed that radiation levels at the Taishan power plant were normal and there were no safety concerns to report. “There is nothing abnormal in the radiation levels around this nuclear power plant, and safety is still guaranteed,” Trieu said at a press conference on June 15. concerned, the current situation at the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant meets the technical requirements.” He also emphasized that Beijing pays close attention to nuclear safety issues and has a nuclear safety control/management system that fully meets international and domestic standards. Zhao made the statement after the US channel CNN reported earlier this week that the UN Security Council had spent a week assessing the report on the risk of radioactive “leakage” at Taishan. and held “many” meetings on this issue. Framatome – a French nuclear reactor manufacturer that holds a stake in the Taishan plant – is said to have alerted authorities at the US Department of Energy through a letter about the “threat of leakage”. impending radioactive leak” and accused the Chinese government of raising the allowable radiation level to avoid shutting down the power plant. According to a memo cited by CNN, Framatome has sent a letter of petition to Washington to get the US to remove sanctions., It is known that China’s atomic energy industry has been subject to many restrictions imposed by the US. since 2019, due to concerns about the industry’s relationship with the Chinese military. Beijing has criticized the US decision, while some observers say the sanctions are politically motivated. On Sunday, the Dai Son plant also released a statement indicating that radiation levels in and around the plant were “normal” and that its reactors were in good working order. “All performance indicators of the two units meet nuclear safety regulations and plant technical regulations,” the statement said. Last Friday, Framatome released a statement saying that “according to production data, the plant is operating below safety indicators”. However, despite these claims, several US media outlets continued to report on the situation in Taishan, with Newsweek magazine publishing an article titled “Leakage at the Chinese nuclear power plant”. Quoc is reminiscent of Chernobyl, while Taishan insists it is safe.” This article also claims that there are many reports indicating that Taishan brings back “the memories of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986, when the Soviet Union mitigated the problem of radiation levels at one of the nuclear power plants. their nuclear power”. Several other agencies, including Bloomberg, also recalled the Chernobyl incident when reporting on Taishan. France’s Electricite de France (EDF) – the parent company of Framatome – owns a 30% stake in the Taishan plant, along with China Atomic Energy Corporation. The plant consists of two reactors located in southern China, about 75 km from Macao, 140 km west of Hong Kong. This plant started operating between 2018 – 2019 and is said to be the “new generation” of nuclear reactor technology.

Speaking at a regular press conference on the afternoon of June 15, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian affirmed that the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Russia in the new era is the relationship between China and Russia. comprehensive, regardless of any changes. Cooperation between the two parties has no limits. He also stressed that any attempt to sabotage Sino-Russian relations would be doomed to failure. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian. (Photo: Reuters) The Chinese side’s statement came after Russian President Putin’s speech to the US media, affirming satisfaction at Russia-China relations “reaching an unprecedented height”, as well as appreciation for the fact that the two sides have reached an unprecedented height. The party maintains a high level of trust and cooperation in the fields of politics, economics, science and technology, military technology, etc., while recognizing that the Russia-US relationship is currently at a low level. the most in many years. In the words of a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Beijing and Moscow are “really united as mountains, the friendship is unbreakable”. The two countries have overcome the challenge of unexpected changes in the international situation and established a model model of a new type of relationship between great powers. Mr. Trieu Lap Kien said that in just 1 month, the two countries will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the signing of the “Treaty of friendship and cooperation between China and Russia”. This is an event of special significance in the relations between the two countries and will promote Sino-Russian cooperation on a higher starting point, broader scope and deeper level. He emphasized: “Real gold is not afraid of fire, we also advise those who are looking for ways to divide China-Russia relations that any attempt to destroy Sino-Russian relations will not be realized. . Hopefully these people won’t go too far down the road of zero-sum games and group political confrontation.” Immediately before these statements of the Chinese side, the G7 and NATO Summit simultaneously issued statements criticizing China and for the first time naming Beijing as a security threat and a serious challenge. system. Recently, Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov, when responding to Chinese media, once affirmed that “it will not happen” that Russia separates from China and approaches the US when the Biden administration applies the strategy ” somewhat soften relations with Russia” to focus on dealing with China, according to him, “this view is too short-sighted”.

One theory is that the virus came from a bat-like animal. The virus then passes to another animal that has close contact with humans and infects them. The second theory suspects that the SARS-CoV-2 virus leaked from a chemical laboratory in Wuhan, China – where the first patient with Covid-19 was recorded. This hypothesis has been rejected many times, even by the WHO team of experts who came to Wuhan to investigate and rejected this hypothesis. However, in recent weeks, this question has been dug up again. Both of these hypotheses still have no reasonable answer, creating a controversy among scientists. The focus of public opinion The Wuhan Institute of Virology specializes in the study of pathogens in nature that are capable of infecting humans – causing novel diseases and high mortality. The Institute has collected many samples from wild animals for experiments to assess the vulnerability of humans to a variety of animal viruses. The institute has carried out numerous studies on bat viruses since the 2002 SARS outbreak, which claimed the lives of 774 people worldwide. Years after a strenuous search, scientists discovered a virus similar to the one that causes SARS exists in a bat cave in southwestern China. To reduce the risk of pathogens accidentally escaping, the facility had to enforce a series of stringent procedures, such as protective clothing or air filtration systems. However, even the most stringent measures cannot eliminate the risk of the virus leaking into the environment. Chinese virologist Shi Zhengli of the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Photo: South China Morning Post. For some scientists, the spread of pathogens by a careless laboratory worker is a plausible theory that explains how the pandemic began. The Wuhan Institute of Virology is located right near the Huanan seafood market – the outbreak is considered the most likely to transmit the virus from animals to humans. The location between the two immediately raised suspicions. Many people are even more suspicious in the context that the animal that carries the disease has not been identified and the Chinese government repeatedly refuses to allow the investigation of the scenario that Covid-19 is a leaked product from a laboratory. The scientists developed the hypothesis based on concerns about the risks associated with laboratory research, clues in the virus genome, and information from the institute’s studies. The Wuhan Institute of Virology insists that its laboratory does not have a virus closely related to SARS-CoV-2 – the origin of the Covid-19 outbreak. This hypothesis was repeatedly rejected, and was forgotten for some time. Until May 23, Wall Street Journal Citing a confidential US report, it was revealed that in November 2019, before China reported its first Covid-19 cases, some researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were hospitalized. . Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian stated on May 24 that the article was “completely untrue”. The ability to transmit viruses from animals to humans A larger number of scientists believe that the virus that causes Covid-19 is of natural origin because there is no scientific evidence to support the scenario of a leak from a laboratory. Kristian G Andersen, a scientist at Scripps Research, who has done extensive research on coronaviruses, Ebola and other pathogens transmitted from animals to humans, says similar natural gene sequences are present in viruses as well. corona. Many new diseases in the past originated in bats. Photo: SCMP. In addition, from a historical perspective, a number of new diseases that have emerged in the past century have been traced back to human interactions with wild and domestic animals, including SARS (bats), MERS-CoV. (camels), Ebola (bats or primates) and Nipah viruses (bats). However, under any scenario, there is not enough evidence to prove that the other scenario cannot happen. 24 scientists recently sent a letter to the World Health Organization (WHO) demanding a rigorous, independent investigation, arguing that an international investigation into China in early February was insufficient. deep. US President Joe Biden on May 26 also ordered intelligence forces to “double efforts” to investigate the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic and report the results of the investigation within 90 days.

Mr. Zhao also emphasized that “the ocean is not the trash of Japan”. The same message he posted on Twitter personally.

Zhao’s statement came after the Japanese government approved a project to discharge 1.25 million tons of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea.

Earlier, on April 13, Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso said in a press conference that “there will be no harm” when drinking treated water, and he said that Japan should drain water sooner. .

Foreign Ministry spokesman Trieu Lap Kien. Photo: Twitter.

The Chinese spokesman also mentioned Minamata disease, saying Japan “should not forget the historic tragedy” and urged Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga not to discharge wastewater into the sea without the consent of other countries.

Miamata disease is a neurological disease that has killed nearly 2,000 Japanese people, and is caused by a Japanese company discharging methyl mercury waste into the environment.

According to the plan, Japan will discharge wastewater into the sea within the next two years. The government said wastewater was treated and diluted to meet World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water standards. However, treatment cannot remove tritium – a radioactive isotope of hydrogen.

Although Japan’s decision to discharge wastewater was approved by the United States and the IAEA, it faced opposition from the country’s fishing industry and neighboring countries. The Chinese spokesperson stated that Japan must reach a consensus of all concerned before proceeding with the discharge.

Mr. Zhao also warned: “China has the right to make follow-up reactions.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Trieu Lap Kien.

“The oceans are not Japan’s trash, the Pacific is not Japan’s sewage trench. The world does not have to pay the price for Japan’s discharge of radioactive water. On some Japanese officials say,” “Nothing will happen even if you drink this”, please drink first, then we will talk, “Foreign Ministry spokesman Trieu Lap Kien said at a press conference on the 14th. / 4.

“We call on the Japanese side to be aware of their responsibilities, to adhere to a scientific approach, to fulfill international obligations and to take into account the serious concerns of the world community and neighboring countries. and the people of our own country, “added the Chinese diplomatic representative.

Earlier, on April 13, the Japanese government announced a plan to discharge more than 1 million tons of radioactive contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific.

According to the roadmap, the discharge will begin in about two years, and the entire process is expected to take decades.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said that the decision to release polluted water into the Pacific was the “most realistic” and “inevitable” option to achieve the recovery of Fukushima “.

Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso affirmed that this water source has been treated, diluted, will be very safe, drinkable, and said that Japan should discharge water sooner.

About 1.25 million tons of water has accumulated in the area of ​​the Fukushima nuclear plant after the tsunami hit in 2011.

The amount of radioactive water is increasing by about 140 tons per day, is currently stored in more than 1,000 tanks and is expected to run out of storage space by next fall.

Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other third parties will be involved in the plan, ensuring the discharge of treated wastewater in Fukushima into the sea is carried out. transparent way.

In a recent statement, the IAEA confirmed to support this decision, because radioactive elements, except tritium, will be removed from the water or reduced to a safe level before being discharged. The IAEA has also shown that nuclear plants around the world use a similar process to treat wastewater.

However, Japan’s discharge has met with opposition from fishing communities in this country as well as concerns from neighboring countries such as China and South Korea.

South Korea expressed “serious concern” that the Japanese decision would have a direct and indirect impact on the safety of its people and the surrounding marine environment.

South Korea urged Japan to provide more information on its wastewater discharge and said it would measure and monitor the radiation itself.

Mr. Ngo Chieu Photography (Tuesday, right) welcomes the delegation sent by Mr. Joe Biden at the airport (Photo: Twitter @ MOFA Taiwan).

According to the news site Multi-Dimensional (Dwnews) On April 14, the Taiwan Diplomatic Service announced on Twitter that the US delegation arrived in Taiwan on the afternoon of April 14 and was directly brought to the airport by Mr. Ngo Chieu Photography, the head of the Taiwan diplomatic mission. welcome. The Taiwanese diplomatic service also posted three photos of the scene on Twitter.

Taiwan’s Foreign Office wrote on Twitter, “the presence of the American delegates is a vote of confidence that the US has for Taiwan and the Taiwanese people who love freedom and democracy”.

Mr. Ngo Chieu Photography (right) welcomes the delegation at the plane’s elevator

(Photo: Twitter @ MOFA Taiwan).

Meanwhile, Beijing is very dissatisfied. When asked questions related to the incident at a regular press conference on April 14, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Trieu Lap Kien said, “Thai Anh Van is just a local leader of China; China firmly opposes any form of formal exchanges between the United States and Taiwan, which is a clear and consistent Chinese policy. The Chinese side was sternly opposed to the US side about the US government’s dispatch of staff to Taiwan to operate ”.

Mr. Trieu Lap Kien also reminded the US to strictly abide by the principle of one China and three Sino-US joint statements, immediately stop any form of official exchanges between the US and Taiwan, and handle any issues. concerns Taiwan carefully and does not send any false signals to “independent Taiwan” separatist powers to avoid causing further damage to Sino-US relations and to peace. stable and stable on the Taiwan Strait ”.

Mr. Trieu Lap Kien said at a press conference on the afternoon of April 14: China strongly opposed the US about sending staff to Taiwan (Photo: Da Dimensional).

It is known that at the request of US President Joe Biden, former Senator Chris Dodd and two former Permanent Deputy Ministers of the Foreign Ministry Richard Armitage and James Steinberg visited Taiwan on April 13. A senior US administration official declared that this was an “important signal” of America’s commitment to Taiwan and its democracy.

A senior official in the Joe Biden administration stated that on the occasion of the 42nd anniversary of the “Taiwan Relations Act” by the US and Taiwan, the US sent the “unofficial” delegation to visit Taiwan. In the past, Mr. Joe Biden Biden voted for this bill as US Senator.

The senior official said the delegation will meet with Taiwanese officials, according to “a long tradition the US administration sends unofficial high-level bipartisan delegations to Taiwan”.

Mr. Ngo Chieu Photography (right) talks with American guests (Photo: Twitter @ MOFA Taiwan).

He also said that the reason these three were chosen because they are longtime friends of Taiwan and have a close personal relationship with President Joe Biden. This move sends an important signal of US commitment to Taiwan and its democracy.

Just a few days earlier, the US issued new rules for US-Taiwan exchanges, further easing restrictions on US-Taiwan exchanges.

At the same time, mainland China has recently increased pressure on Taiwan, the Liaoning aircraft carrier exercises around Taiwan, and military aircraft are also constantly approaching Taiwan. Many fear that Beijing will use force against Taiwan. The US tit-for-tat, constantly sending warships through the Taiwan Strait to deter Beijing.

Before that, the Taiwan News Agency CNA quoted people familiar with this issue as saying that, in early March, the US side informed the Taiwanese government that President Joe Biden would send former Senator Chris Dodd to Taiwan to show long-term friendship. personal length with Taiwan and congratulate the 42nd anniversary of passing the “Taiwan Relations Act”. The Taiwan side welcomed Mr. Biden’s willingness to arrange a jet to take Mr. Dodd to visit Taiwan, and planned to exchange important information with Mr. Biden through this channel.

Ms. Tieu My Cam, Taiwanese representative in the US, was invited by Mr. Joe Biden to the inauguration ceremony on January 20, 2021 (Photo: Da Afternoon).

A person familiar with the matter pointed out that the delegation will arrive in Taiwan on April 14 Taiwan time and is scheduled to visit until April 16. During that time, the delegation will meet with leader Thai Anh Van and will also meet with senior Taiwanese national security, foreign affairs and defense officials. Sources familiar with the matter also said that Taiwan is expected to continue proposing recent Chinese provocations against Taiwan; Taiwan is committed to maintaining regional stability, but at the same time hopes that the United States will continue to strengthen its support for Taiwan, including concrete progress in economic, trade, and security areas.

A source familiar with the matter said the Taiwanese side is expected to also thank Mr. Biden’s team for their recent Taiwan-friendly actions, including the publication of the latest guidelines on awarding. exchange and significantly loosen restrictions on their exchanges.