Eighty years ago, on Aug. 6, 1945, the US dropped an atomic bomb in Hiroshima; three days later, Nagasaki would receive the same fate. On Aug. 15, 1945, Japan proclaimed its unconditional surrender, bringing World War II to an end.
I have been revisiting Genbaku Shishu (“Poems of the Atomic Bomb”), written by Japanese poet Sankichi Toge and translated by Taiwanese poet Yeh Ti (葉笛); every poem chronicles a miserable and harrowing tale. Each line on Aug. 6 is a desperate cry engrained in history books and people’s minds: “Can we forget that flash? / suddenly 30,000 in the street disappeared… / the shrieks of 50,000 died out /…a shoreless accumulation of rubbles and embers - Hiroshima.”
While the Tokyo Trial sentenced and punished many Japanese war criminals, innocent civilians had no way to heal the pain.
During WWII, the Allies — the US, the UK, France, the Soviet Union and the Republic of China, fought against the Axis — Japan, Germany and Italy. After WWII, alliances shifted, and the capitalist democracies, consisting of the US, the UK, France and Japan, were in conflict with the communist autocracies Russia and the People’s Republic of China.
Nuclear energy, which was subsequently developed for non-military purposes, was originally used as a weapon of war. Superpowers now measure their military might based on the number of nuclear warheads they possess; dependent on each other not firing the first shot, they have created a balance of terror in turn. This utterly exposes the despicable and violent side of a country’s power.
Among nuclear energy’s non-military purposes, power generation is the most notable: It is ostensibly clean and low-cost. Nevertheless, it has its own critics. Countries seemingly benefitting from nuclear energy obscure the shady dealings they do and the tremendous profits they rake in. Radiation leaks create huge disasters; think about Three Mile Island in the US, Chernobyl in Soviet-era Ukraine, and Fukushima in Japan.
The irreparable calamities caused by nuclear power plants instigated a global anti-nuclear movement; that was partially why Taiwan phased out nuclear energy, on top of the hard-to-dispose-of nuclear waste. The unfinished Fourth Nuclear Power Plant was frozen and existing nuclear power plants were shut down when their licenses expired.
However, some people prioritize economic development and praise nuclear power, and they have been advocating for the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant to resume operations. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), hoping to retaliate against the Democratic Progressive Party, have joined forces. A reverence of wealth and a disregard for nature conservation has led some Taiwanese to become obsessed with development.
In most countries, the ruling party embraces nuclear power, while the opposition parties resist nuclear power. However, Taiwan goes the other way around, and it is a sign that our politics is in disarray; the KMT assumes itself to be the ruling party, and the same goes for the TPP. Abolishing nuclear power is a sign that a country is environmentally conscious and civilized.
After much effort, Taiwan has joined Germany and Italy in phasing out nuclear power; in some manner, it shows we have been progressive on this issue, and we recognize the importance of averting nuclear disasters. Energy issues are undoubtedly challenging, but they are meant to be solved, and Taiwan has striven to solve them, instead of neglecting past horrors and making reckless decisions.
No one can guarantee the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant to be safe. Is it a good idea to renew its license? Of course not. Is it a good idea to restart nuclear power plants? Of course not.
Lee Min-yung is a poet.
Translated by Cayce Pan
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