Tang Prize winner and climate change expert James Edward Hansen yesterday visited nuclear power proponents who went on a hunger strike, expressing his support for young people who fight for public interest.
Hansen and Veerabhadran Ramanathan were awarded this year’s Tang Prize in Sustainable Development on Friday.
Hansen visited the demonstrators after delivering a speech titled “Global Energy, Climate and Health: Young People’s Burdens and Opportunities” at Taipei’s Howard Civil Service International House.
Nuclear Myth Busters founder Huang Shih-hsiu (黃士修) began a hunger strike on Sept. 13 to protest the Central Election Commission’s decision on the same day to reject the additional signatures they had collected for a referendum proposal.
A week earlier, they had submitted 314,135 signatures.
Their referendum proposal asks people whether they agree with scrapping Article 95 of the Electricity Act (電業法), which stipulates that all nuclear facilities should be phased out by 2025.
While the number of signatures collected exceeded the legal minimum of 281,745, the group hoped to add more in case some were invalidated.
After going on a hunger strike for 140 hours, Huang was on Wednesday sent to hospital, but returned to the protest the following day. New Party member Hou Han-ting (侯漢廷) has taken over the hunger strike from him.
Hansen said he admired their courage, adding that would be unfair if the government imposes an unwise energy policy on the younger generation.
Due to a delay, Hansen only visited for about five minutes.
The commission said in a statement that it had received the group’s signatures, but, in accordance with the law, it could not accept forms delivered separately.
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