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Ex-DPP chairman to lead march against power plant

Former DPP chairman Lin I-hsiung (林義雄) plans to lead environmental activists on a 1,000km long march across Taiwan later this month to drum up support for a public referendum on the future of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, the local Chinese-language media said yesterday.

Lin, a long-time anti-nuclear activist, plans to pressure the DPP government to take the issue more seriously, the report said.

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who came to power on an anti-nuclear platform, made good on his promise in October 2000 when he halted construction of the controversial power plant.

The decision prompted an opposition drive to recall him. The DPP government then relented in response to criticism in February last year and agreed to resume construction of the plant.

Lin is critical of the way the DPP government has handled the issue, especially its caving in to opposition pressure.

Lin will lead a number of environmental groups on the long march, which is set to begin from Taipei's Lungshan Temple on Sept. 21, the report said.

Lin is scheduled to announce his plan on Sept. 18, the report said.

Lin has long called for a public debate on the plant's future.

Meanwhile, Taipower officials said construction plans for the power plant remain unchanged despite opposition from environmental groups.

The company is working to correct problems of shoddy construction at the plant discovered earlier this year.

The report quoted unnamed Taipower officials as saying the plant will become operational in July 2006 as scheduled.

Despite setting a goal of creating a nuclear-free home, the commission has not reached a conclusion on whether to bring forward the date the three existing nuclear power plants are closed.

According to a deal reached between the Cabinet and the legislature last year, the nuclear plants are expected to be phased out between 2011 and 2018.

According to the TaiPower, the power generated by the three nuclear power plants combined accounts for 21.6 percent of the nation's total power.
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