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Mothers join call to close all
nuclear power plants
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
A group of anti-nuclear activists
and mothers protest on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei yesterday to demand that
the government mark Mother¡¦s Day on Sunday by closing all the nation¡¦s nuclear
power plants.
Photo: Tang Chia-ling, Taipei Times
A handful of anti-nuclear activists and
several mothers joined forces yesterday as part of an event staged at Taipei¡¦s
Ketagalan Boulevard calling for the government to mark Mother¡¦s Day by closing
all the country¡¦s nuclear power plants.
¡§Use love and peace to eliminate nuclear power,¡¨ the protesters said, urging the
government to allow mothers and their children to live in a nuclear-free
environment.
¡§We used to think nuclear disasters were far away from us when we heard about
Chernobyl [in the former Soviet Union] and the Three Mile Island accident [in
the US], but following the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear [power plant] disaster in
Japan last year, people here became aware that nuclear disasters can be close to
us,¡¨ Homemakers¡¦ Union and Foundation secretary-general Lu Mei-luan (§f¬üÆ}) said.
A government which says that people should be made to feel safe and secure
should start by giving the people an environment without fear of nuclear
disasters. This would be the best Mother¡¦s Day gift, she said.
A mother surnamed Chang (±i) said that although nuclear power has been promoted
as a relatively clean and cheap way to generate energy, in reality the
associated costs are enormous, especially if an accident occurs.
Many babies will be born in Taiwan this year, an expectant mother said.
¡§It is everyone¡¦s expectation to live and work in peace and contentment, but
this expectation cannot grow in an environment with the risk of nuclear
disasters,¡¨ she said.
Japan is about 10 times the size of Taiwan and about 31 percent of its total
electricity used to come from nuclear power, but now with all its nuclear power
operations brought to a halt, people still go on with their lives, Gongliao
Anti-Nuclear Self-Help Association chairman Wu Wen-chang (§d¤å¼Ì) said.
Wu added that electricity generated through nuclear power represents less than
20 percent of Taiwan¡¦s total electricity output, so the country should learn
from Japan and halt nuclear power operations as well.
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