Dec. 1 elections: Activists ask voters to send anti-nuclear message

Activists yesterday called on voters to support anti-nuclear legislative candidates.

These candidates could play an essential role in scrapping the controversial Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四) during the next legislative session by freezing the budget needed to complete the plant's construction.

A list of 37 anti-nuclear candidates was released by activists at a press conference yesterday at the Legislative Yuan. The activists came from from diverse groups such as the Nuclear Free Country Association, Green Party Taiwan, Homemakers' Union and Foundation and Life Conservationist Society.

They said that a Legislative Yuan composed of anti-nuclear politicians was a prerequisite toward building a nuclear free country.

"The future of the controversial nuclear power plant will be decided by the newly elected legislators, who are obligated to review the additional budget proposed for its construction," said Shih Shin-min (施信民), convener of the Nuclear Free Country Association.

Shih said that the Taiwan Power Company (Taipower, 台電) estimated last year that the total budget for construction would be increased to NT$208.2 billion from the originally proposed NT$169.7 billion. So far, the Legislative Yuan has only allocated NT$123.9 billion for construction.

Shih said that future legislators would decide if Taiwan wanted to spend NT$84.3 billion more to complete the plant.

Shih said that the decades-long democratization movement in Taiwan had completed a historic mission -- the transfer of power between political parties -- last year when the DPP won the presidential election.

"Now it's time for Taiwanese people to pursue the next historic mission, building a legislature which promotes environmental protection and sustainable development in the country," Shih said.

Meanwhile, activists also released a document, which lists names of legislators who voted for -- as well as those who voted against -- a resolution opposing the Executive Yuan's decision last year to scrap the controversial plant.

On Jan. 31, the resolution passed 135 to 70. Most votes for the resolution came from the opposition KMT.

Kao Cheng-yan (高成炎), the Green Party's legislative candidate in Taipei City's southern district, yesterday criticized those who voted for the resolution. He said that they were disregarding both the future of Taiwan and the safety of its people.

"Taiwan, a crowded, tiny island, cannot take any nuclear catastrophe," Kao said.

Activists urged voters to spurn some DPP legislators -- such as Shen Fu-hsiung (沈富雄) -- who failed to keep promises to abandon nuclear energy. Shen is one of the DPP legislative candidates in Taipei City's southern district.

Last year, Shen was denounced by anti-nuclear activists because he advocated resuming construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, but decommissioning the first and second nuclear power plants earlier than scheduled.

Yesterday, representatives of Shen's office refuted the activists' criticism, saying that the legislator's advocacy of resuming construction was only intended as a strategy to negotiate with the KMT.