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How China became the king of new nuclear power, and how the U.S. is trying to stage a comeback (www.cnbc.com)
submitted 2 years ago* by to c/worldnews@lemmy.ml
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China has 21 nuclear reactors under construction which will have a capacity for generating more than 21 gigawatts of electricity, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. That is two and a half times more nuclear reactors under construction than any other country.

I love that China is not planning to power all future demand with more coal and gas.

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[–] 3 points 2 years ago (4 children)

Do you have reason to believe China is not taking safety seriously in there nuclear energy program?

If the China government were doing the wrong thing, would Chinese scientists and engineers be safe to say so, or would they be subject to imprisonment and torture for disagreeing with their political superiors?

Without freedom of political speech there is no freedom to tell the truth on matters of political controversy. This includes environmental and safety issues.

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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    It goes the other way too. The Chinese government harshly punishes those who take dangerous shortcuts that undermine public safety and trust. The 2008 baby formula scandal comes to mind, which led to the execution of two executives for their crimes.

    Anyway, nuclear power has proven to be very safe under all types of government. To say that it would somehow be less safe in China is maybe just a little bit sinophobic.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago*

    Yes? Unlike in the US, whether to care about safety or health aren't political issues.

    Also, the punishment for severely fucking up isn't a small fine or imprisonment, it's execution. If Fukushima happened in China, heads would literally roll. That's a pretty strong incentive to not fuck up from the plant manager/architect/designer standpoint.

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  • [+] [S] -8 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I get it, you don't like China. They're still a big player in global emissions and I'm still glad they're not meeting their complete energy demand with coal/ng. You should be too.

    The ability of chinese scientists and engineers to act in their roles without interference from the state is offtopic. If you want to talk about that, go make a thread about it.

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