China has apparently restricted media reports on fuel rods being damaged at a nuclear power plant, sources close to the matter said Thursday, as the leadership of President Xi Jinping has been promoting exports of nuclear reactors to other nations.
The Communist Party may be trying to prevent concerns over the safety of the country's nuclear technology from mounting, the sources said, while Chinese media have only reported the government's announcement on the incident.
Citing the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Global Times emphasized Wednesday that the radiation levels around the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong Province are normal.
The tabloid affiliated with the ruling party also denied a CNN report that China's safety authority has raised the acceptable limits for radiation detection around the plant in order to avoid shutting it down. Other media have not touched on the incident.
Following the accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, growing fears about potential radioactive contamination prompted Chinese citizens to stage a campaign against constructing a nuclear facility in the nation's inland area.
The Communist-led government, which has emphasized nuclear power to tackle climate change, has effectively prohibited Chinese media from reporting news that would generate a negative impression on its nuclear strategy, the sources said.
Regarding the novel coronavirus, first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, Beijing is believed to have attempted to cover up information about it in the initial stages of the outbreak. The virus eventually spread worldwide.
The Taishan plant in the southeastern Chinese province is located about 130 kilometers from Hong Kong.
Hong Kong and China's neighbors, including Japan, have expressed concern about the possible radioactive leakage from the country's nuclear power plant, urging Beijing to provide an explanation to the international community with transparency.
The Japanese government has said monitoring posts installed at home have not shown any worrisome radiation levels so far.
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China summons Japan's envoy to protest Fukushima water release
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