Seven university students yesterday set out on a five-day protest walk in southern Taiwan, hoping more people will support an end to nuclear energy in the nation.
Standing in front of the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Ma-anshan (馬鞍山), the seven students, wearing yellow T-shirts that read “STOP, No Nuke,” said they would convey their message of opposing nuclear power along their walk starting from the plant and ending in Greater Kaohsiung on Saturday.
Describing the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao District (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市), as a threat to the lives of Taiwanese, they said they plan to visit local Earth God temples in Pingtung County to pray that the plant’s construction be halted and for protection for Taiwan from nuclear disasters.
Photo: CNA
The students said they would walk during the day, while giving out anti-nuclear flyers and selling anti-nuclear products from a backup vehicle that would drive along the group. They have already scheduled rest stops at night, where they will give anti-nuclear power lectures, perform short skits and distribute flyers.
“Walking is the most humble way to approach the local populace and communicate with them,” National Sun Yat-sen University student Lin Hsin-yi (林心乙) said.
“No one wants to have a nuclear power plant built beside their home, and conflict can avoided by the termination of nuclear power,” said one of the students, Tsai Mu-lin (蔡牧霖).
Another student, Chen Yi-hua (陳怡樺), said finding a site for nuclear waste disposal would deepen regional divide.
They added that they would warn residents living near the Ma-anshan plant about potential harm and damage should there be an accident at the plant.
Yuan Jui-yun (袁瑞雲), convener of Pingtung County’s nuclear safety monitoring committee, voiced his support for the walking demonstration and urged people in Pingtung to join the anti-nuclear parade on Saturday.
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