Taiwan Church News 3220 Edition November 11 - November 17, 2013 Headline News An Anti-Nuclear Campaign - Start Walk, Stop Nukes - Is Relayed Around Taiwan Reported by Simon Lin On October 10th, when all the government officials gathered before the Presidential Office to celebrate the national holiday, an anti-nuclear campaign - Start Walk, Stop Nukes - pledging to walk around Taiwan kicked off from the 4th nuclear power plant. The campaign headed to eastern Taiwan first, after passing Tai-tung, Orchid island and Pin-tung, the route is set to march north and across western Taiwan. It is scheduled to return back to Taipei and circle around Presidential Office on January 1st, 2014. November 6th, this anti-nuclear campaign parade arrived Tainan City, intending to proclaim their ideals in the coming five consecutive days. And they were well received and hospitalized by PCT Tainan College Student Center. November 7th, a press conference was held in Taiwan Railway Station. All the campaign members, rolling the bright yellow nuclear waste barrel, shouting "Stop Nuclear 4th Plant Immediately", "No More Pro-nuclear Lawmakers!", "Clear Nuclear Waste, Protect Next Generation!"...etc. The activity speaker, Pan Han-sen, a Green Party member, streesing that nuclear power is "a gift from the hell". He reminded the audience that Taiwan is a democracy now, totally different from the authoritarian age under martial law which dictated the policy to build the 4th nuclear power plant. To protect our next generation, we people have the right to decide our public policy and kick back the nuclear power plant to the hell. November 9th, the anti-nuke campaign held an evening assembly in Taiwan Literature Museum. Hwang An-Tiau, Chairman of The Allaince of Protecting Tainan Water Resources, wearing a whole set of anti-radiocative suit to stress how horrible and incredible an nuclear disaster would generate! He warned the audience that there are 46 fault lines on this islands, as Taiwan is located on the Pan Asia-Pacific rims, yet the most terrible thing that this government did to Taiwan is all the 4 nuclear power plants are all located upon these fault lines. Hwang bluntly condemned such official decision as conscientiousless! Within this night assembly, PCT youth Tseng Wan-yu and Lee Hsin-jen also shared their experiences of bring Taiwan's anti-nuclear issue to the WCC 10th Assembly. Tseng Wan-yu said, through the efforts of PCT, WCC members started to recognize Taiwan was also highly threatened by accidental nuclear disaster; Lee Hsin-jen remarked that, though anti-nuclear stance is not accepted into the final statement of WCC due to the opposition from England's Anglican Church,Taiwan's strenuous anti-nuclear determination was explicitly demonstrated and well recognized to stand firm within this internationally anti-nuclear world. Translated by Peter Wolfe |