20140331 MingPao_氣候變化專家憂落雹變常態

香港昨晚暴雨落雹，香港氣象學會發言人梁榮武警告，這可能是氣候變化徵兆，日後落雹可能變為常態。

天文台前助理台長兼香港氣象學會發言人梁榮武說，落雹屬於極端天氣，難以預測，即使利用雷達亦難百分百準確預測，外國專家曾透過電腦模擬推算，全球變暖有可能導致冰雹和龍捲風出現的機會增加。他指出，隨着變暖令大氣層水氣增加，造成不穩定，出現強對流機會亦增加，大破壞力的落雹可能變成常態。

（綜合）

20140321 Standard_Tale of two cities in Taipei occupation

With little fanfare, hundreds of students took over Taiwan's parliament in a surprise raid, protesting a trade pact reached between Taipei and Beijing.

Compared to the Occupy Central movement being organized by Hong Kong's pan-democrats and their supporters, the students' occupation of the Legislative Yuan was swift and sharp - carried out without any warning.

They barricaded themselves inside the building, repelling police attempts to flush them out, while logistics kept pouring in. What appeared improvised at first was indeed well organized.

In the SAR, the pan-democrats and friends have been trying to organize Occupy Central for a year, and it is still in a state of confusion. Worse yet, they remain as divided as ever.

As the showdown on political reforms looms, it's questionable whether they can overcome internal splits to forge a common front to be taken seriously.

The Taiwanese students' actions make a mockery of the lack of organization in the Occupy Central movement, as well the democratic system that has developed in Taiwan since the mid-1980s.

The students are trying to prevent the Legislative Yuan from passing a follow-up agreement to the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, saying it would undermine local businesses and cost Taiwanese people their jobs.

In essence, ECFA is similar to the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement between Hong Kong and the mainland.

But opposition to ECFA is probably a political smokescreen. Underneath are the localist sentiments against mainland influence.

Taiwanese police have tried but failed to evict the protesting students holding out in the main chamber. Unfortunately, some were injured during the confrontation. I wonder if Hong Kong police will be able to avoid injuries as they clear protesters occupying the Central district in view of the Taiwan experience.

It's a probable situation of serious concern.

Taiwan's political system is far more democratic than that of Hong Kong, as the Kuomintang and pro- independence Democratic Progressive Party have taken turns forming the government over the past couple of decades.

In theory, partisan disagreements shouldn't have escalated to the current state of tension, had the island's system been able to function properly.

Democracy is a form that has to be supported by a common will to respect the values embodied in it. Otherwise, societies will continue to be polarized, with self interests coming before the public good.

In Taiwan's case, opponents are taking laws into their own hands instead of respecting the spirit of majority rule.

Occupy Central supporters may argue that what's happening in Taipei provides a lesson where localist feelings should be allowed to dominate.

But to the contrary, it should be taken as a warning that Occupy Central - no matter how peaceful it's intended to be - could always turn out badly.

Tale of two cities in Taipei occupation

20140320 Standard_You choose: options for future energy floated

Hongkongers are being asked to choose between importing 50 percent of its electricity from the mainland or using expensive natural gas.

Both options, put forward in a new consultation paper, will cost roughly the same. In addition, say environment officials, they will be cleaner than the current coal-heavy fuel mix.

The "grid purchase" option will involve 30 percent of the SAR's electricity being sourced from the China Southern Power Grid plus the 20 percent currently provided by the Daya Bay nuclear plant.

Local power generated by natural gas will provide 40 percent and 10 percent by coal and renewable energy.

The second option, called the "local generation," is that in addition to the 20 percent from the Daya Bay nuclear plant, power generated by natural gas will be greatly increased from the current 22 percent to 60 percent and the remaining 20 percent will be met by coal and renewable energy.

The public is being asked to decide which of the two options should be in place by 2023.

Secretary for the Environment Wong Kam-sing said in terms of cost to consumers, there will be little difference between the two options.

However, maintaining the status quo is not an option because the aging generators which use coal will be retired beginning in 2017.

Both options would cost 100 percent more than the cost of generating power from 2008 to 2012, the Environment Bureau said in the consultation document.

"A preliminary estimate is that the unit cost of imported grid electricity will roughly double the unit generation cost over the five-year period from 2008 to 2012," the document said. While the additional cost will be borne partly by consumers, Wong said it is too early to estimate how actual electricity tariffs would be affected.

The China Southern Power Grid currently supplies electricity to Macau.

Its reliability is 99.9 percent, which is the same as in Hong Kong.

Raymond So Wai-man, chairman of the energy advisory committee, said it is unavoidable that local power tariffs will increase in the future.

Greenpeace senior campaigner Prentice Koo Wai- muk believes the increased tariffs for importing electricity would be relatively smaller compared with the option for Hong Kong to generate power mainly by natural gas.

20140321 Standard_Power competition closer in future supply

The public consultation on the future fuel mix for Hong Kong's power supply has thrown up the possibility of real competition in the electricity market.

That is because one of the two options under consideration in the government's consultation is for the territory to connect with the mainland's power grid.

Undersecretary for the Environment Christine Loh Kung-wai said that introducing competition in the power market will be the subject of a future consultation.

Hongkongers are now being asked to choose between importing 50 percent of the SAR's electricity from the mainland or using expensive natural gas.

Deputy Secretary for the Environment Vincent Liu Ming-kwong said the proposed option of importing electricity from the mainland's power grid has its advantages as compared with nuclear power generation by the Daya Bay plant in Guangdong.

Liu said at present, China Southern Power Grid has generated power with multiple sources of supply including hydropower, coal and natural gas.

Liu told a radio program: "We believe that there will be advantages for importing electricity from the mainland's power grid as there will be multiple sources of supply.

"If there is a problem in a particular source of supply, the China Southern Power Grid can still provide power via other sources of supply."

Importing electricity from the grid offers more flexibility.