[3197] Survey discovers that church youths are evenly divided on whether or not to support abolition of nuclear energy

Survey discovers that church youths are evenly divided on whether or not to support abolition of nuclear energy

Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong

Written by Lydia Ma

East Gate Church’s Youth Fellowship in Taipei organized a forum on June 1 on the theme “How much do you about Nuclear Energy: Revelations from the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster”. The fellowship invited Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association’s lawyer, Tsai Ya-ying, to speak at this forum and lead discussions.

One of the most shocking discoveries made during the discussion session of this forum was the fact that the number of youths at East Gate Church’s Junior Youth Fellowship who support nuclear energy and those who oppose nuclear energy are evenly divided. This statistic reflects that younger generations in the PCT are not unanimous in their views about whether Taiwan should get rid of nuclear energy.

Based on this survey on youths, one could argue that it will be very difficult for the upcoming referendum on nuclear energy to pass the much-needed 9.05 million vote threshold, and stop the building of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. Responding to such a pessimistic prediction, Tsai said that people should not give up trying even if it is an uphill battle. She likened efforts to stop nuclear energy to sharing the Gospel and said that those who support a nuclear-free homeland must actively share their views with other people.

East Gate Church’s Junior Youth Fellowship recently conducted a simple survey of its members. The survey asked all the youths whether or not they supported nuclear energy. In the end, 12 youths said they opposed nuclear energy, 10 youths said they supported nuclear energy, and 2 youths said they were undecided.

These results were met with a lot of surprise by members of the church’s Senior Youth Fellowship. They acknowledged that though the PCT has always played a leading role nationally in opposing nuclear energy and raising awareness about its dangers, it seems as though these deeply held convictions at the General Assembly level have not taken root at the local church level. Many youths said that they had expected results at the local level to be much more in favor of a nuclear-free homeland.

One youth pointed out that most youths’ positions on social issues are deeply influenced by their parents and their teachers. These grown-ups are the very citizens who will be eligible to vote whether Taiwan will get rid of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. Hence, the fact that so many youths are supportive of nuclear energy is a good indicator that their parents, who are also PCT members, are supporters of nuclear energy.

Based on these observations, another youth said that churches ought to work harder in educating the masses about the perils of nuclear energy and why people should oppose it for the sake of their health and their lives. Furthermore, measures must be taken to counter the Ma administration’s pro-nuclear energy propaganda. Such measures are very important in rural areas because of lack of access to advanced communications technology. They are also crucial in countering the government’s attempts to win over peasants or mislead them through the use of incentives or benefits.