Holding hands to form a human chain while chanting slogans, several hundred anti-nuclear power activists yesterday blocked off the main entrance to the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Taipei County’s Gongliao Township (貢寮), calling on the government to halt the plan to fill the reactors with uranium fuel in December and to stop using nuclear energy.
“No to uranium filling!” “No to restoration of nuclear power!” Hundreds of activists — Gongliao residents and non-residents alike — shouted as they formed a human chain in front of the plant.
Behind them was the half-closed gate heavily guarded by police.
Many employees trying to go in or out of the power plant were forced to use other entrances.
Despite the occurrence of at least five incidents — some that could have triggered serious disasters if there had been uranium fuel inside the reactors — at the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant since test operations started in March, the government and Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) are set to begin uranium-filled test operations in December and start commercial operation in October next year.
Before demonstrators headed to block the entrance of the plant, they held a concert featuring several independent bands and opponents of nuclear energy in the square of the main temple in Aodi Village (澳底) not far from the power plant.
Although the organizers originally planned to march from the temple to the power plant after the concert, they later asked participants to “take a walk” to the power plant as police officers at the scene warned that an unauthorized march would be in violation of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法).
“When we asked Taipower about the incidents — most of which were unknown to the public until exposed by the media later — they said everything was under control and those were ‘normal’ occurrences,” Taiwan Environmental Protection Union secretary-general Lee Cho-han (李卓翰) told demonstrators.
“I wonder if they will tell us everything is ‘normal’ when the nuclear power plant explodes?” he said.
Taiwan Homemakers’ Union chairwoman Chen Man-li (陳曼麗) said: “More people started to support nuclear energy, saying it produces less carbon dioxide as global warming becomes a hot issue. While that’s true, I must remind everyone that nuclear energy is something that can cause immense destruction when something goes wrong,” he said.
Members from foreign organizations such as Greens Japan and Green Energy No Nukes in Asia Pacific also came to show support.
Noting that Taiwan and Japan have both experienced earthquakes that killed thousands of people, Greens Japan member Matsumoto Namiho said: “I cannot imagine how horrible it would be if a massive earthquake hit a nuclear power plant?”
“While we can’t stop earthquakes, we can stop nuclear power plants,” she added.
The blockade ended peacefully nearly an hour later when rain suddenly started to pour, sending both demonstrators and police running for cover.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
China is attempting to subsume Taiwanese culture under Chinese culture by promulgating legislation on preserving documents on ties between the Minnan region and Taiwan, a Taiwanese academic said yesterday. China on Tuesday enforced the Fujian Province Minnan and Taiwan Document Protection Act to counter Taiwanese cultural independence with historical evidence that would root out misleading claims, Chinese-language media outlet Straits Today reported yesterday. The act is “China’s first ad hoc local regulations in the cultural field that involve Taiwan and is a concrete step toward implementing the integrated development demonstration zone,” Fujian Provincial Archives deputy director Ma Jun-fan (馬俊凡) said. The documents
RSS