March 21~27, 2011
Headline News
Christians in Taiwan join others in rally against nuclear energy expansion
Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong
Written by Lydia Ma
In the wake of the nuclear crisis in Japan following the disastrous earthquake and tsunami, Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (TEPU) staged a rally on March 20, 2011, in downtown Taipei to demand a halt to policies geared at expanding the use of nuclear energy and building reactors plants in Taiwan.
TEPU issued a statement claiming that past national policies restraining the use of nuclear energy had been severely eroded in recent years. Not only were antiquated nuclear power plants (NPP) still in operation, safety regulations were continually glossed over. Taiwan currently has 4 nuclear power plants – NPP1, NPP2, NPP3, NPP4.
The rally began at 2:30 p.m. after former PCT General Secretary William J.K. Lo led everyone in a brief prayer. Protesters started their march at the side entrance of National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and ended their march at the front steps of the Legislative Yuan.
Participants underscored their concern and opposition to continuing operations at nuclear facilities No.1, No.2, and No.3 and demanded a halt to building new nuclear facilities. They also requested an investigation on nuclear facility No.4 as there had been allegations of corruption and concerns that the facility was built on land vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis. If these allegations are confirmed, protesters said they’d demand an immediate halt to the building of NPP4.
Participants also demanded that emergency procedures be established instantly at all NPPs to guarantee the nation’s safety in the event of an accident. Otherwise, all facilities needed to be closed and disbanded.
Christians were a visible group among those at the rally. “The government cannot govern with a gambling mindset,” said Tang Feng-cheng, a member from Shihlin Bread of Life Church, adding that the Ma administration shouldn’t put people’s lives and properties on the line, but that was precisely what it was doing with such lax nuclear energy policies.
PCT Church and Society Secretary Huang Che-yen, who had returned from Japan a few days ago was also among the crowd. He underscored that, if nuclear disasters could happen to a country as progressive and careful as Japan, where information on nuclear safety is transparent and publicly accessible, it would be foolish to think that Taiwan would do better, because information is less transparent and the existence and enforcement of nuclear safety regulations are a mystery to the public.
Former Premier Chang Chun-hsiung said he’d opposed nuclear energy and NPP4 ten years ago when he was premier and his position hasn’t changed since. Worried about Taiwan’s prospects if a nuclear accident should happen here, he urged Christians to pray for Taiwan’s environment and stop using nuclear energy to generate power.
Chang underscored that Taiwan has a high population density compared to other countries with nuclear energy. “Unless God has great mercy on Taiwan, we’ll all be as good as dead in case of a nuclear accident!” he said, adding that EU, US, and Japan all have stricter regulations concerning nuclear energy though their population density is smaller than Taiwan’s.
