week 3 -nuclear power plant

Taiwan's Fourth Nuclear Power Plant a hot topic among activists and youth

Tens of thousands of protesters in Taipei stepped onto the streets in Taiwan's capital city on April 26 as part of a latest round of anti-nuclear demonstrations that has been going on for years in the island country to demand its government immediately terminate the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant project.

The event, joined by men and women of different ages and political affiliations, was one of the largest anti-nuclear protests in Taiwan following the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear accident in neighboring Japan, and was held to support the hunger strike launched by former opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Lin Yi-hsiung (林義雄).

An iconic figure in the island nation who has been pushing the anti-nuclear movement for decades, Lin began his hunger strike in mid-April, stressing that he would not stop the strike until the government had met his demand that the nation's Fourth Nuclear Power Plant be scrapped for safety reasons.

According to the protesters, the island that lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire is prone to earthquakes and not suitable for nuclear power.

There are already three nuclear plants in operation on the small island of 36,000 square kilometers, while the fourth is under construction.

With four nuclear plants in Taiwan, they argue that once a nuclear disaster occurs, the densely populated country will suffer catastrophic damage.

Moreover, the fourth plant, which is currently under construction in New Taipei City's Gongliao District (貢寮), is situated less than 30 kilometers away from Taipei, the economic and political hub of the country with a population of nearly three million. The cost for the plant has already exceeded NT$350 billion in a 15-year on-and-off-construction.

All of Taiwan's nuclear plants have been rated as some of the world's most dangerous plants by the World Nuclear Association, the activists argue, calling on the government to halt construction on the fourth plant and cease operations on the three remaining plants as soon as possible.

In response to the protesters, Taiwan's Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) announced on April 28 the suspension of construction of the controversial Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, pending a public referendum on whether to resume it.

The government's latest announcement was seen as a victory for the anti-nuclear activists. Two days after Jiang's announcement, Lin also decided to stop the hunger strike and be transferred to a hospital.

The decision by the ruling administration of President Ma Ying-jeou to halt the power plant's construction despite its continuous plead that giving up nuclear power — which constitutes about 18 percent of national energy production — could deal a serious blow to the country economically and to the well being of all Taiwanese.

The state-run Taiwan Power Company also warned that there is a risk that the country may face energy rationing by 2021 if all three existing nuclear power plants are decommissioned and if the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant is scrapped as demanded by activists. A huge surge in electricity prices once nuclear power is abandoned is almost a certainty, the company claimed.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2014/09/21/417622/Taiwans-Fourth.htm

Structure of the Lead :

who: men and women of different ages and political affiliations

when: on April 26

what: an anti-nuclear event

why: once a nuclear disaster occurs, Taiwan will suffer catastrophic damage

where: Taipei

how: not given

Keywords :

affiliations(n.)附屬機構;聯盟

iconic(a.)圖標的

operation(n.)經營

activist(n.)激進主義分子

controversial(a.)有爭議的