Soon she will go to the grave containing his ashes and burn newspapers reporting the news so that he will be able to read them and know that his wish has come true.
Speaking out
Wu Wen-tung (吳文通) is hardly a quiet, meek man.
As spokesman for the Yenliao Anti-Nuclear Self-Help Organization, Wu is usually in the middle of the fracas. He makes his point, and then again. These days he is just as vociferous as ever, defending the actions of the activists and swatting away any accusations that their activities have threatened the well-being of the nation.
"It's so unfair to blame our movement for shaking public confidence for the economy. How can we have the ability to ruin Taiwan's economy?" asked Wu.
Wu has been a member of the movement for more than a decade. In that time, he has been transformed from the uninformed owner of a household appliance store to one of the key leaders of the group.
During the early 1990s, Wu was one of the activists jailed after a clash with riot police resulted in a car accident in which one policeman was killed.
Wu spent a month in jail for organizing the demonstration. Since then, Wu has faced dozens of lawsuits for sporadic clashes with the police.
The 45-year-old activist has lived in Kungliao for more than 20 years. He said he would not have paid such a price for a movement if he had chosen not to attend an anti-nuclear energy speech 12 years ago in front of Jenho Temple, the town's religious center.
"Maybe it was because my uncle was killed in the 228 incident. My relatives had warned me not to touch politics." But he did. And despite credit paid to him by other activists, he has remained modest about his devotion. "There are no heros in the movement. As I'm not a fisherman working out at sea all day, I just happened to have more time," he said.
RSS