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Yunlin protesters throw shoes at
president
By Mo Yan-chih / Staff reporter
Environmental activists yesterday
prepare to hurl shoes at President Ma Ying-jeou, who was visiting the National
Yunlin University of Science and Technology.
Photo: CNA
President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) visit to
Yunlin County yesterday was marred by a protest by more than 200 residents, some
throwing shoes as the president arrived, because they blame the government for
ignoring the county’s flooding problems.
The protesters carried signs and shouted: “Step down, Ma Ying-jeou” in front of
the National Yunlin University of Science and Technology while being blocked by
police officers. They were so occupied that they did not notice Ma’s motorcade
when it arrived.
The protesters later clashed with police and started throwing shoes. Police
deployed nets to catch the shoes.
Small and large-scale anti-Ma protests have become common at public events the
president is scheduled to attend.
His popularity has dropped to below 10 percent, according to some opinion polls.
The president was unfazed by the protest and defended the government’s nuclear
policies when meeting with a group of students at a green energy forum at the
university.
Amid opposition to the government’s plan to continue the construction of the
Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao District (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市), Ma
said the government would adopt the highest safety standards while continuing
the operation of the nation’s nuclear power plants and stressed the advantages
of nuclear energy, including its high efficiency and low cost.
Forty percent of the nation’s electricity comes from fossil fuels, 30 percent
from natural gas and 18.5 percent from nuclear power. The rest is supplied by
alternative energy sources, he said.
Ma said that the government has conducted thorough inspections of the nation’s
nuclear power plants already in operation over the past two years, adding that
the government would allow the public to decide via a referendum whether
construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant should continue.
Ma acknowledged that nuclear waste is a problem, but insisted the issue has not
stopped other countries from developing nuclear energy.
“There are new technologies for handling nuclear waste and this challenge has
yet to become a reason for others in the international community to abandon
nuclear energy,” he said.
Countries that have suffered nuclear disasters, such as Japan, the US and
Russia, continue to use or develop nuclear energy, he said, adding that
abandoning nuclear energy is not a global trend.
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