An estimated 2,000 anti-nuclear demonstrators marched through the streets of Taipei yesterday on the eve of Mothers' Day in a bid to urge the incoming government to scrap plans to build the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
By doing so, the protesters claimed, the government would provide a safer environment for future generations.
Protesters belonged to several groups, including the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (TEPU,
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Several officials and legislators from Taipei County, where the plant is located, also urged the incoming government to respect the rights of local residents to live in health and in peace.
Activists urged the DPP, which will head the central government from May 20, to keep promises made during the recent presidential election campaign to halt the plant's construction.
Although the US$5.6 billion plant is scheduled for completion four years from now, officials from the incoming government said earlier this week that they have set up a special review committee that will determine within three months whether to continue with the project or not.
To highlight what they called "A-bian's [President-elect Chen Shui-bian's] (陳水扁) responsibility" -- to keep his promise to terminate the controversial project -- activists presented numerous copies of a photo showing the president-elect holding a flag bearing "Oppose the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (反核四)" bearing his signature.
"We believe that the new government will be more friendly to the anti-nuclear movement because we have more space to negotiate," said Shih Shin-min (
"I'm optimistic because this is an issue of moral integrity for DPP officials. They cannot possibly break their [previous] promises," DPP lawmaker Lin Chung-mo (
The march went off peacefully, with whole families taking part and some bringing their pets.
Noticeably absent however, were a number of senior DPP party officials, such as chairman Lin I-hsiung (林義雄), who have in the past played a large role in demonstrations against nuclear power.
Their absence was interpreted as a reflection of the sensitivity of the power plant issue, as the DPP prepares to assume power of the government.
Although yesterday's protest appeared no different from previous anti-nuclear activities held each spring for the past decade, the DPP this time has itself become the target of criticism despite its leaders' previous support for the anti-nuclear movement.
Some activists have voiced suspicions that the party could be forced to compromise over the issue due to pressure from business circles.
Minister of Economic Affairs-designate Lin Hsin-yi (
Hsi Shih-chi (
The anti-nuclear cause in Taiwan has, meanwhile, also gained support from the international community.
Several Japanese activists from the No Nukes Asia Forum (NNAF, 非核亞洲論壇), brandishing banners saying, "We are against nuclear tests" joined yesterday's protest to hand out information about the damage caused by nuclear proliferation.
"Outmoded nuclear power plants should not be built," Ritsuya Okuno (
Linda Arrigo, a Taiwan Green Party member, told the Taipei Times that Chen's vague response to the issue has sparked criticism from foreign anti-nuclear activists.
"Franz Floss, the spokesman for the Green Party Federation in the European Union, has advocated publicly that Chen Shui-bian stop the plan," said Arrigo, adding that it was time for Taiwan to educate the public by releasing accurate information regarding radiation disasters caused by nuclear power.
Activists also performed a skit in front of the Presidential Office, to alert the public to the danger of nuclear accidents, such as the meltdown accident in Chernobyl in 1986.
Their audience appeared shocked at the sight of representations of rivers running with blood and burned black human bodies.
"If scientists still cannot deal with nuclear issues properly -- such as with radioactive waste -- the government should reconsider existing policies," said Lin Yung-ming (
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