Thousands march for a green island

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in front of the Presidential Office yesterday in support of the Executive Yuan's decision to scrap the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, appealing to the government to make Taiwan a nuclear-free country.

On the square in front of the Presidential Office, demonstrators read a joint statement in a variety of dialects, including Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka and Aboriginal languages, showing that diverse ethnic groups in Taiwan hold the same hope of abandoning nuclear energy.

Demonstrators said that building nuclear-free countries had become a global trend, but they were disappointed at the performance of some political figures who they said had instigated political unrest by trying to continue with construction on the controversial plant.

"The political storm made us uneasy, dubious, and frightened," the statement said. It also said that living a safe life and looking forward to a brighter future is what everyone on the island wants -- and is the same desire held by the ancestors of the people of Taiwan.

Kao Cheng-yan (高成炎), organizer of the demonstration and an activist from the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union, led the crowd.

The demonstration called 1112 No Nuke, Live in Taiwan Safely (1112 非核家園安居台灣) was undertaken in response to recent events surrounding the decision by the DPP-led government of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to terminate construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. A number of opposition legislators are now seeking the recall of the president.

The demonstration yesterday was attended by diverse participants, including environmentalists, Aboriginal representatives and foreign anti-nuclear activists.

Gathering at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei yesterday afternoon, the demonstrators, mostly DPP supporters, were not put off by the rain.

"Scrap the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant! Stop political struggles!" demonstrators shouted. Senior citizens, children, pregnant women and wheelchair-bound people waved banners to show their eagerness to see a better environment for future generations.

Wearing traditional helmets, Aborigines from Orchid Island (蘭嶼) waved banners proclaiming: "No nuke, no waste" to express their anger at Taipower for using their environment to store nuclear waste.

Lin Shen-yi (林勝義), an activist who has devoted himself to reviving Taiwan's indigenous Katagalan culture (凱達格蘭文化), told the Taipei Times that historic sites near or inside the grounds for the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant should be respected.

"We hope to see Yenliao Bay (鹽寮灣) turned into a well-designed park that characterizes the indigenous culture and marine biology," Lin said.

Residents from Kungliao (貢寮) township, Taipei County, where the controversial plant is located, said scrapping the plant was the only way out for the declining small town.

The anti-nuclear demonstration was also supported on the Internet from foreign anti-nuclear activists in more than 20 countries. Several foreign activists joint the demonstration in Taipei yesterday.

"The demonstration was a good example to show that Taiwanese people have been aware of the potential radioactive threats from nuclear plants," said Yuri Nabyvanets, a radioactive contamination researcher from the Ukraine. Nabyvanets worked for the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine to study radioactive contamination caused by Chernobyl disaster and has researched radioactive contamination cases in Taiwan for three years.