[3100] PCT promotes creation care through seminar and training on reasons to create a nuclear-free Taiwan

PCT promotes creation care through seminar and training on reasons to create a nuclear-free Taiwan

Reported by Lin Yi-ying

Written by Lydia Ma

PCT General Assembly will hold 3 seminars from August 22 to September 9, 2011, in Taipei, Tainan, and Taitung respectively on the topic of “A Nuclear-free Homeland”. Included as one of the themes for PCT’s “One-leads-One New Doubling Movement”, the seminar will include training so that participants will be equipped to teach others on this issue.

For this seminar, PCT has invited former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Minister Lin Jun-yi to speak about nuclear energy from perspectives such as ecological ethics, the value of life, and “What You Don’t Know About Nuclear-powered Energy.”

Lin visited PCT General Assembly Office on July 22, 2011 to speak with General Secretary Andrew Chang and other PCT leaders. During a brief interview, he pointed out that regardless of whether one looks from the political, technical, economic, social, psychological, or ecological perspective, nuclear energy is harmful and should be abolished. Pointing to Three Miles Island accident, Chernobyl disaster, and now the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, he also said that nuclear disasters shouldn’t be seen as accidents, but rather, predictable and impending occurrences. 

“Nuclear power is the most unclean, environmentally destructive, and fearsome way to generate energy,” Lin said. “But the government has been touting that it’s the cleanest and the cheapest way. But they only say this because they haven’t included the cost of generating and the cost of disposing nuclear energy into their calculations.

Commenting on the Ma administration’s plan to complete Nuclear Power Plant No.4, Lin said candidly that President Ma’s actions show that he has no attachment to this land. “Ma Ying-jeou doesn’t have any qualifications to talk about this because he doesn’t know about the dangers of nuclear energy.”

He added that in view of Taiwan’s decreasing population, even if the nation were to do away with all 4 nuclear power plants, Taiwan could still produce enough energy via other means to satisfy national demand now and in the future in view of Taiwan’s decreasing population.

PCT General Secretary Andrew Chang underscored that Christians ought to be good stewards for God. For this reason,the PCT has always supported and emphasized on creating a nuclear-free Taiwan in the past few decades. This consensus within PCT leadership is the reason the former EPA minister was invited to speak and teach people to become trainers.

Chang stressed that the adage “where there is a will, there is a way” conflicts with the Christian worldview because human will and power is actually very limited. Humans may think that technology can be controlled and put to great use, but they often wind up becoming slaves to technology or endangered by technology.

Human beings must understand that they don’t have ownership of the world in which they live, but rather, God has entrusted them to care for the world, Chang said. Only after this fact becomes apparent will humans begin to seek harmony with their environment and live to see their lives and earth’s creation thrive in tandem.