Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou Tuesday asked the island's atomic energy authority to take every precaution to prevent radioactive leakage from nuclear power plants on the island.

Ma said that the island would even abandon its nuclear generators to ensure safety.

After a 9.0-magnitude earthquake hit the northeast region of Japan and triggered a devastating tsunami on Friday, Taiwan has been on high alert for possible radioactive contamination.

Ma made the remarks during an inspection of Taiwan's atomic energy authority, which has turned on all monitoring devices around the island.

Three of all four nuclear power plants in Taiwan are located on hillsides, which is comparatively safe if a tsunami occurs. The authority said that it would discuss a temporary shutdown of the fourth plant in the northeast coast with its operator, Taiwan Power Company (TPC).

Edward K.M.Chen, the chairman of the TPC, said that Taiwan's four nuclear power plants are more advanced than those in Fukushima. Being capable of withstanding an 11-meter high tsunami, the plants also have auto-shutdown systems that would work amid strong quakes.

Taiwan's tourism authority on Tuesday tagged Japan's six regions, including Tokyo, as red-alert destinations for tourists. It has also been working on refund procedures for those who did not finish tours in Japan.

Further, Taiwan's security market responded drastically to Japan's massive quake and secondary disasters. The TAIEX index dropped more than 285 points on Tuesday. Christina Liu, the head of Taiwan's economic development authority, said that the market was too nervous about Japan's disaster and she believed it would only have a short-term impact on Taiwan's security market.

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