Anti-nuclear activists to march across the nation

Anti-nuclear activists will this weekend launch their first nationwide march since the DPP took power in 2000 to raise environmental awareness and push for the scrapping of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.

The action will be the activists' third march since September 1994, when former DPP chairman Lin I-hsiung (林義雄) led a two-month, 1,005km trek to push for a referendum on the nuclear plant.

At a press conference yesterday in Taipei, march organizer Cheng Hsien-yu (鄭先祐) said that greater awareness would form a firm base for a democratic society.

According to Cheng, the 1,000-km march across Taiwan will begin Saturday and will again demand a national referendum on the future of the nuclear plant, now under construction.

"If we have more people raising consciousness with regard to public affairs, we will get the power to scrap the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant," Cheng said.

Plans for the demonstration have participants marching 20km each weekend for at least 50 weeks.

Cheng said he hopes a referendum can be held in time for the presidential election in 2004.

"A referendum is one of basic rights people have to get involved in the decision-making process," Cheng said.

Cheng said that his goal of building a nuclear-free country could be reached soon if the public, in addition to demanding the scrapping of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, seeks the decommissioning of Taiwan's three operational nuclear plants.

In addition to activists from groups such as the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union, Taiwan Agenda 21, the Home-makers' Union and Foundation and the Taiwan Peace Foundation, environmentally minded professors will also participate in the march.

Campaign staff with DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) have also signed up, Cheng said.

The organizer added that people shouldn't see the march as political because it is merely an action designed to educate the public.

Former DPP chairman Lin also attended the press conference yesterday but refused to comment when asked if the DPP government had expressed concerns about the event.

"I'm just one of the members of the march who wants to raise public awareness on the nuclear power issue," Lin said.

Lin's action was interpreted as criticism of the ruling DPP, which reversed its decision in October 2000 to halt construction of the nuclear plant after giving in to opposition parties in January last year.

DPP Deputy Secretary-General Michael You (游盈隆) said that the DPP's stance was the same as that of NGOs.

You said that the party's inability to follow through on its promises can be attributed to the short period of time it has wielded real power in the legislature.

You added that the march would not hurt the party.