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Thousands call for nuke-free Taiwan |
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November 13, 2000
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Tens of thousands of people rallied Sunday to support Taiwan's president, the focus of widening criticism for scrapping a partially completed nuclear power plant.Protesters in the capital, Taipei, and the southern port city of Kaohsiung demonstrated for President Chen Shui-bian, whose decision last month to abandon the $5.4 billion project has prompted calls for his ouster.
Protesters waved purple and green banners that read ``No Nuclear Plant, Support Chen Shui-bian,'' and distributed pamphlets reminding the public of past nuclear disasters abroad. More than 100 policemen with riot shields cordoned off roads leading to the Presidential Palace. Chen has faced intense criticism from opposition lawmakers who say that his bypassing of the legislature to scrap the plant was unconstitutional, and a coalition of opposition leaders met over the weekend to discuss details of Chen's ouster. Anti-nuclear forces argue that Taiwan is incapable of storing nuclear waste, and the plant would threaten the environment, already damaged by decades of policies emphasizing industrial growth over all else. Opposition lawmakers, however, say the plant in northern Taiwan is urgently needed for national security and to help fuel continued economic growth and ditching the plant would be a waste of taxpayer's money. Taiwan imports 97 percent of its energy. If China ever made good its threats and forced Taiwan to reunify after 51 years of estrangement, the most logical option would be to form a naval blockade and cut off Taiwan's oil supply, analysts have said. |