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Thousands rally
against nuclear power
FAIR TRADE? At the rally, ex-premier Chang Chun-hsiung
asked if it was wise to cause millennia of damage to build a plant that would
provide just a few decades of energy
By Lee I-chia / Staff Reporter
Demonstrators dressed in Taoist
costumes march yesterday during a protest against nuclear power in Taipei.
Photo: Edward Lau / Reuters
Thousands of anti-nuclear protesters
shouted “I am Taiwanese, I am against nuclear power” yesterday as they marched
through downtown Taipei to call for an end to nuclear power in Taiwan on the eve
of the anniversary of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) second inauguration.
“We are extremely disappointed that the government has no regard for the threat
that nuclear power poses to human life,” said Kao Cheng-yan (高成炎), a former
chairman of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union, which organized the
march. “We believe that there is only one Taiwan, that people’s lives are
invaluable and that there are other viable energy resource options.”
The protesters also urged the government to revise the phrasing of the proposed
national referendum to decide the fate of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New
Taipei City’s (新北市) Gongliao District (貢寮), to amend the Referendum Act (公民投票法)
and to modify the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act (核子反應器設施管制法) so
residents living within 50km of a nuclear plant will have the right to decide
whether it operates.
In contrast to the nationwide anti-nuclear protests held in March, which drew a
large number of young people who expressed their stances in artistic ways and
were altogether more festive, the participants of yesterday’s rally ere mostly
middle-aged and elderly. Members of civic groups, the Democratic Progressive
Party (DPP) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) also took part in the protest.
“Time has proven me right,” said former premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) of the
DPP, referring to the decision he made in 2000 when he was premier to halt
construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant despite facing extreme pressure
to finish the project.
Although the plant’s construction was eventually resumed, many people are now
aware of the danger posed by nuclear energy since the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear
power plant disaster in Japan two years ago, he said.
“Is it right to establish a plant that provides only 20 to 30 years of
electricity for our generation, but leaves behind harmful radioactive waste that
will affect our offspring and the environment for about 240,000 years?” he said.
Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) added that it is wrong that the
government has already spent more than NT$300 billion (US$10 billion) of
taxpayers’ money on the plant and forces the public to live in permanent fear of
a nuclear disaster.
Meanwhile, Yang Mu-huo (楊木火), secretary-general of the Yenliao Anti-Nuclear
Self-Help Association, said that although the proposal to hold a local
referendum in New Taipei City was rejected by the Cabinet’s Referendum Review
Committee on Thursday, advocates of the local poll would continue to push
forward.
Several booths were set up along the march route, including one by the TSU that
gave participants the chance to throw sandals bearing slogans such as “Impeach
Ma” or “Terminate nuclear power” at two cardboard mannequins labeled “Ma’s
black-hearted Cabinet” and “Bandit Ma, get out.”
The marchers converged at Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential
Office at about 5pm to hear a series of speeches. They were then treated to
performances by musician Chu Yueh-hsin (朱約信) — better known as Joy Topper (豬頭皮)
— and rock band The Chairman (董事長樂團) in the evening.
The Taiwan Environmental Protection Union said a few of its representatives were
to head to the Legislative Yuan after the event to stage 24-hour hunger strike,
after which they would begin to hold a relay sit-in protest of unlimited
duration.
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