Civic groups yesterday announced a nationwide anti-nuclear parade next Saturday, calling on members of the public to stand against unsafe nuclear power plants.
“Terminate the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, take to the streets everyone,” and “Break through the ‘bird cage,’ toward a better future,” representatives from a number of groups organizing the parade chanted at a press conference in Taipei yesterday, while adding that a referendum proposed by the Cabinet on the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant would not guarantee nuclear safety.
“It’s a survival issue, not a battle between political parties,” Green Citizens’ Action Alliance secretary-general Tsuei Su-hsin (崔愫欣) said, adding that the nuclear power issue is a great concern of the public, but the current “birdcage referendum” law — with excessively high thresholds for putting a referendum proposal on a ballot and passing it — makes it an unfair battle between the opposing sides.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
“The government is using its resources to oppress rising anti-nuclear voices in society, looking down on civic groups and probably thinking that they will lose the vote if it manipulates the referendum as if it were a political election, but we will make our voices heard on the streets, asking for a better future with sustainable energy,” she said.
“Taiwan is so small that it does not have the conditions to develop nuclear power, because the harm caused by a nuclear disaster would be irreversible,” Citizens of the Earth Taiwan chairman Liao Pen-chuan (廖本全) said, adding that the referendum proposed by the Cabinet clearly shows its intention to continue with the construction of the power plant because it does not consider the other options should voters choose to abolish nuclear power.
Homemakers United Foundation president Chen Man-li (陳曼麗) said nuclear power is only the choice of 32 of 193 nations and it is not suitable for Taiwan because the nation is so small and there would be nowhere to hide should a disaster occur.
The organizers plan to begin the parade on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei, Aozihdi Forest Park (凹仔底森林公園) in Greater Kaohsiung, the Civil Plaza (市民廣場) in Greater Taichung and Taitung Sinsheng Park (台東市新生公園) in Taitung City next Saturday afternoon.
OFFLINE: People who do not wish to register can get the money from select ATMs using their bank card, ID number and National Health Insurance card number Online registration for NT$6,000 (US$196.32) cash payments drawn from last year’s tax surplus is to open today for eligible people whose national ID or permanent residency number ends in either a zero or a one, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. Officials from the ministry revealed which days Taiwanese and eligible foreigners would be able to register for the cash payments at a joint news conference with the Ministry of Digital Affairs. Online registration is to open tomorrow for those whose number ends in a two or three; on Friday for those that end in a four or five: on Saturday
TECH PROGRAM: A US official said that an important part of the delegation’s trip would be to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co executives The US is to send officials in charge of chip development to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea to promote cooperation in the global semiconductor supply chain, the US Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. Chips Program Office Director Michael Schmidt announced the visit, which marks the first time officials from the office are to visit the three nations since it was set up in September last year. “As semiconductors and technologies continue to evolve, the United States will keep working with allies and partners to develop coordinated strategies to ensure that malign actors cannot use the latest technologies to undermine our collective
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials are investigating why a Starlux Airlines flight to Penang, Malaysia, returned to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport nearly two hours after takeoff yesterday morning. The airline said in a statement that Flight JX721 to Penang took off from Taoyuan airport at 9:20am. “After the dashboard showed a signal of an abnormality in the hydraulic system, the captain followed standard operating procedures and returned the flight to Taoyuan airport for safety precautions,” the airline said, adding that the flight landed safely at the airport at 11:04am. The airline arranged for the passengers to have lunch after the flight landed and
WORKING UP AN APPETITE: Sales at the Rueifong Night Market surged 20 to 30 percent, while seats at Liouhe Night Market were packed until 1am, market officials said South Korean pop band Blackpink’s concerts over the weekend in Kaohsiung helped draw large crowds to local night markets, the Kaohsiung City Government said yesterday. The two concerts on Saturday and Sunday at Kaohsiung National Stadium drew more than 90,000 people. The city government offered NT$50 vouchers to spend locally to concertgoers who showed their ticket stubs. Liouhe Night Market (六合夜市) management committee head Chuang Chi-chang (莊其章) said that crowds over the weekend surged at about 10pm and the market remained packed until 1:30am. “Almost all the seats were filled,” Chuang said. Night market stall owners had stocked up in expectation of an increased number
RSS