Tens of thousands of people opposed to nuclear energy yesterday came together nationwide in antinuclear parades and rallies, joining an alliance of civic groups to raise awareness about perceived problems with the nation’s nuclear policies.
In Taipei, environmental activists and residents from New Taipei City’s Jinshan (金山) and Wanli (萬里) districts took the stage as crowds flocked to Ketagalan Boulevard.
Responding to this year’s theme — to “bid farewell” to nuclear energy — many held banners or props bearing elegiac messages, such as “Nuclear Energy RIP” and signs bearing the Chinese character tien (奠), a common item displayed at traditional Taiwanese funerals, to mourn the deceased.
Photo: EPA
Although the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮) has been shuttered since last year after construction was halted following a safety assessment, the plant’s maintenance fees amount to billions of New Taiwan dollars every year, and the government should therefore demolish the plant, Green Citizens’ Action Alliance secretary-general Tsuei Su-hsin (崔愫欣) said.
With the Jinshan and Guoshen nuclear plants in New Taipei City’s Shihmen (石門) and Wanli districts respectively approaching retirement age, problems retrieving spent fuel rods during maintenance and storage pools at the Jinshan plant nearing capacity, the government must not extend the service life of the facilities, Northern Coast Anti-Nuclear Action Alliance chairperson Hsu Fu-hsiung (許富雄) said.
Wu Wen-chang (吳文樟), a Gongliao resident, accused state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) of plotting to start operations of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant by browbeating Taiwanese with a power shortage.
Photo: Ke Yu-hao, Taipei Times
He said that by simultaneously carrying out maintenance at a large number of coal-fired power plants, including the Taichung Power Plant, Taipower plans to throttle the nation’s surplus electricity supply from more than 20 percent to about 3 percent, forcing the public to accept the opening of the Gongliao plant.
Tao Aborigine and Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) resident Syamen Womzas said the government has yet to honor a promise it made 12 years ago to relocate nuclear waste stored in his hometown.
“The government stored nuclear waste on Lanyu through deception. The residents never agreed to the plan. It is very unfair to us who do not use nuclear energy. We hope that the government relocates the waste soon,” Syamen Womzas said.
Piho Yuhaw, an Atayal Aborigine from Yilan’s Nanao Township (南澳), said government authorities are conducting geological assessments to set up a deep geological repository on the border of Yilan and Hualien counties, near his home.
He said the government targeted land reserved for Aboriginal people whenever the storage of nuclear waste comes up, calling it an act of bullying minorities and a violation of the Aboriginal Basic Act (原住民基本法), which stipulates that the government must not go against Aboriginal groups’ will to store harmful substances on their land.
He said that nuclear waste storage is an issue, but Taiwan must not overlook the larger picture, which is to abolish nuclear energy.
To demonstrate how alternative energy sources can be effectively utilized, Lee Yung-tsung (李永宗), a wind energy researcher based in Chiayi County, set up two stationary bicycles that collected kinetic energy from pedaling volunteers and stored it in a lead-acid battery that was used to power a coffee machine and cell phone charging ports.
“Hopefully, through this device, people will understand that electricity is difficult to come by, that even after exerting so much strength, the electricity generated can only power so few household applications,” Lee said.
In southern Taiwan, led by a religious procession, about 10,000 protesters marched through downtown Tainan, demanding a nuclear-free homeland.
A local antinuclear organization called for the government to recognize the public sentiment toward abolishing nuclear plants nationwide, adding that it is the citizens’ right and obligation to fight for a green homeland and the freedom from nuclear fear.
Protesters headed by educators and parents from nearby Yunlin County also joined the rally in Tainan, saying they are fighting for the well-being of their children.
Meanwhile, about 100 antinuclear protesters amassed at four major crossroads in downtown Taitung County, calling for the government to remove nuclear waste from the county.
Activists performed a skit in which they pretended to bury the four nuclear plants in Taiwan.
Antinuclear activist and aboriginal folk musician Nabu said that the county has the potential to develop renewable energy, and Taitung citizens are firm on their antinuclear stance.
In outlying island Penghu, an antinuclear rally was joined by several environmental groups and Penghu County Commissioner Chen Kuang-fu (陳光復).
Protesters on bikes gathered in front of Taipower’s office to stage a demonstration, saying that they want to put an end to nuclear power and demand an aggressive energy policy reform.
A series of antinuclear protests were sparked soon after the Ministry of Economic Affairs listed the county’s Wangan Township (望安) among its two preferred locations for storing low-radiation nuclear waste in 2009.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
URBAN COMBAT: FIM-92 Stinger shoulder-fired missiles from the US made a rare public appearance during early-morning drills simulating an invasion of the Taipei MRT The ongoing Han Kuang military exercises entered their sixth day yesterday, simulating repelling enemy landings in Penghu County, setting up fortifications in Tainan, laying mines in waters in Kaohsiung and conducting urban combat drills in Taipei. At 5am in Penghu — part of the exercise’s first combat zone — participating units responded to a simulated rapid enemy landing on beaches, combining infantry as well as armored personnel. First Combat Zone Commander Chen Chun-yuan (陳俊源) led the combined armed troops utilizing a variety of weapons systems. Wang Keng-sheng (王鏗勝), the commander in charge of the Penghu Defense Command’s mechanized battalion, said he would give
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
RSS