Anti-nuclear groups announced that they will hold a “Run Away From Nuclear” event on March 29 in Taipei as they performed a skit yesterday on Ketagalan Boulevard in which they pretended to flee radiation leaked from a nuclear power plant.
With the sound of nuclear alarm sirens in the background, performers wearing radiation suits put radioactive hazard trefoil stickers on signs with Taipei’s famous landmarks drawn on them to signify that all of Taipei could be contaminated if an accident occurred at one of the nuclear power plants in northern Taiwan.
Taiwan has three operational nuclear power plants — the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in Shihmen District (石門), New Taipei City (新北市), Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in Wanli District (萬里), New Taipei City, and Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Ma-anshan (馬鞍山), Pingtung County.
Photo: CNA
The skit also included a person dressed in a panda costume to mimic the Taipei Zoo’s panda cub Yuan Zai (圓仔) and a person holding a picture of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), with a voice-over saying that even they could not escape from the radiation should an accident happen.
Anti-nuclear Alliance of Fathers convener Liou Gin-show (劉俊秀), a professor at National Chiao Tung University, said that according to his calculation, the occurrence rate of a nuclear disaster is about 1 in 500 — which is higher than the rate of winning NT$200 in the bimonthly Uniform-Invoice Lottery.
“If a nuclear disaster occurs at one of the plants, between 4 million and 5 million people would have to be evacuated from the Greater Taipei area, and that is only based on an evacuation ranging between 20km and 30km from the plants, not to say the 80km radius evacuation zone recommended by the US, and we do not even have the ability to evacuate 4 or 5 million people,” he said.
Anti-nuclear Alliance of Fathers executive director Kobe Chih (池國平) said the group decided to hold a run because fleeing is the first thing people would do in a nuclear accident, but “we also want the government to know that it is impossible to mount an effective response to a disaster when so many people are trying to flee at the same time.”
Taiwan Environmental Protection Union member and National Taiwan University’s atmospheric sciences professor Gloria Hsu (徐光蓉) said Taiwan is not short of power, because electricity generated by nuclear power accounts for only 6 percent of the total power supply, and can be replaced by improving electrical transmission efficiency or energy-conservation measures.
The groups urged the government to retire the three operational nuclear power plants as planned and stop constructing the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao (貢寮), New Taipei City, to provide a safe, nuclear-free living environment for everyone.
The 7km running event will begin at 7am and start from Ketagalan Boulevard.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS