Hundreds rally in Taipei against restart of No. 3 nuclear power plant

Taipei, Aug. 16 (CNA) About 300 people took to the streets of Taipei on Saturday to campaign against an upcoming referendum on the restart of the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant in southern Taiwan.

Led by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (TEPU), the rally included members of the Taiwan Society North, World United Formosans for Independence, and political parties such as the Green Party Taiwan and New Power Party.

The approximately 300 participants walked from Taipei's National Taiwan University to the Liberty Square, then to the Legislative Yuan' building on Jinan Road, calling for the nuclear plant to remain closed.

The campaign was held ahead of the Aug. 23 referendum, which will ask voters to decide on the restart of the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant that has been inoperative since May 17 when its No. 2 reactor unit was decommissioned after 40 years of service.

The advocates for and against the reopening of the plant, commonly known as Taiwan's No. 3 nuclear plant, have been holding televised debates and various other activities to push their respective views.

At Saturday's rally, TEPU founding chairman Shih Hsin-min (施信民) said that Taiwan is an earthquake- and typhoon-prone island, which makes it unsuitable for the development of nuclear energy.

With the retirement of the No. 3 nuclear plant on May 17, Taiwan officially became a "nuclear-free homeland," a status that was accomplished after 40 years of hard work, Shih said, calling for that to be retained.

Since the plant was closed, Taiwan has not experienced a power shortage, he said.

The No. 3 nuclear power plant is an old facility, and restarting it would mean disregarding the future of Taiwan's new generations, Shih said.

He berated the opposition Kuomintang and Taiwan People's Party for seeking to reopen the plant, saying that Taiwan should maintain its "nuclear-free homeland" policy.

Also speaking at the rally, Ho Yu-jung (何語蓉), secretary-general of the Taiwan Obasang Political Equality Party, said that even those who support nuclear energy should vote against restarting the No. 3 nuclear plant, as it would contribute only an additional 6 percent to Taiwan's power supply.

Furthermore, the plant is located on an earthquake fault line, which means it is a high-risk operation, Ho said.

Ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜), who was also at the rally, said the DPP had never swayed from its position on nuclear power.

As long as the issues of nuclear energy safety and nuclear waste remain unresolved, the public should vote against restarting the power plant, she said.