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Green Party Taiwan
calls for end to nuclear power
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
On yesterday¡¦s second anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that triggered
the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan, green parties from
seven nations in the Asia-Pacific region made a joint statement calling for the
phasing out of nuclear power.
The Green Party Taiwan (GPT) held a live online press conference with the Asia
Pacific Greens Network (APGN) at its office in Taipei, in which it issued a
joint statement called ¡§Post-Fukushima: Pathway to a Green Economy.¡¨
The statement said the global impact of the Fukushima disaster highlighted the
responsibility of all nations to ensure the safety of their citizens and protect
the planet for future generations.
The party said that of the 59 nuclear reactors being built at present around the
world, 40 are located in the Asia-Pacific region, and called on the people of
the region to support sustainable green economies.
GPT spokesman Pan Han-shen (¼ï¿«Án) said the government and Taiwan Power Co (¥x¹q)
warn of power shortages should nuclear energy be phased out, but this scenario
is based on overestimations of future electricity consumption.
The government should improve efficiency in the use of electricity and develop
sustainable green energy, he added.
Conveying the words of Greens Japan¡¦s steering committee member Rikiya Adachi,
Pan said the mistakes made at Fukushima should not be repeated, and that nuclear
power plants should be shut down and not allowed to reopen.
¡§The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant is still dangerous ¡K It is said that
it will take at least 40 years to decommission the plant,¡¨ the Greens Japan
statement said.
¡§Radioactive contamination was widely spread around Tohoku and Kanto regions,
and ¡¥hotspots¡¦ have even been confirmed around Tokyo. Millions of people are
forced to live their lives exposed to radiation in the air, soil, water and
food,¡¨ it added.
Meanwhile, a publisher announced that a textbook for Taiwanese junior-high
school students will include an advertisement produced by the Interchange
Association, Japan to thank Taiwan for its support in 2011.
The ad will appear in the section on civil participation in the textbook on
society, Kang Hsuan Educational Publishing Group said.
Starting next year, the textbook will be available to students in their final
year of junior-high school, the publisher said.
To mark the first anniversary of the disaster, the Interchange Association¡¦s
Taipei office last year produced an advertisement featuring a group of Japanese
students from the affected areas expressing gratitude to Taiwan for its generous
donations and assistance.
Following the earthquake and tsunami, Taiwan donated about US$260 million in
relief and reconstruction aid to Japan, 90 percent of which came from private
donors. This was the highest amount from any country.
The thank-you ad by the association serves as a good example of the importance
of civil participation, the textbook publisher said.
The association¡¦s Taipei office said it is pleased the advertisement is to be
included in the textbook and again expressed gratitude for Taiwan¡¦s support
following the disaster.
The association represents Japanese interests in Taiwan in the absence of
diplomatic ties.
Additional reporting by CNA
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