Thousands rally in Taipei against controversial nuclear plant project
Thousands of anti-nuclear activists staged a sit-in in front of Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou's office, in a two-day protest demanding that the government drop a controversial nuclear power plant project that has been hotly debated on the island for decades.
Thousands of anti-nuclear activists staged a sit-in in front of Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou's office yesterday, in a two-day protest demanding that the government drop a controversial nuclear power plant project that has been hotly debated on the island for decades.
Wearing yellow headbands bearing anti-nuclear slogans, the crowd of activists held position outside the president's office despite heavy rain.
"If the government does not want to take responsibility for stopping the plant project, then it should relax the requirements for a referendum," a protest organiser said. Under current rules, half of all eligible voters must take part in the referendum and half of those who do must approve of the proposal for the project to go ahead.
The NT$283 billion (HK$72.2 billion) project, proposed by the Taiwan Power Company in 1980, has triggered waves of protests over the years.
Construction for the project began in 2009 and commercial start-up of the plant, now 98 per cent completed, was scheduled for 2016. But the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan ignited new protests, forcing Ma's government to agree to safety checks.