nuclear-news

Taipower poisons island with nuclear wastes, and islanders’ minds with money

“Taipower contaminates our island with nuclear waste and it also contaminates our minds with money,”  “They are trying to make us think that we cannot live without nuclear waste.”…

a lot of Taos depend on Taipower for jobs and are afraid of losing their jobs if they tell people what they really think.

Lanyu’s residents grudgingly accept nuclear storage Taipei Times, By Loa Iok-sin 19 March 12,  The Tao Aborigines of Lanyu (蘭嶼) — also known as Orchid Island — are once again taking to the streets to voice their opposition to a nuclear storage facility on their island, calling for its immediate removal.

While it may appear that the removal of nuclear waste is the only thing the Taos want, the
real situation is much more complicated, as Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) is exerting considerable effort on the resource-scarce island to minimize opposition.
We love Lanyu. We don’t want nuclear waste,” hundreds of Taos and
their supporters shouted out loud as they marched on the streets of
Taipei on March 11 — the first anniversary of Japan’s earthquake and
tsunami, which led to the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear
power plant — during a demonstration against nuclear power.
Before the March 11 demonstrations, hundreds of Taos also organized
their own demonstration in front of the nuclear waste storage facility
on the island on Feb. 20.
“The first shipment of nuclear waste came to the island in 1982, the
year I was born,” Si Ara’n said. “I grew up watching adults on the
island fighting against nuclear waste. When I was little, I didn’t
know what they were doing, but now I understand why the elders fought
against it.”
“I’m 30, the elders who campaigned against nuclear waste have grown
old, so it’s time for Taos my age to continue the struggle, because I
want my children and grandchildren to grow up in a safe and clean
place like all Taos have done for the past 800 or so years,” he said.
Lanyu was given its name by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
government after World War II, as officials at the time found orchids
blossoming everywhere on the island. The Taos call the island Ponso no
Tao, which means Island of the People…..
According to Chih Kuo-tai (池國泰), manager of the Taipower Lanyu Storage
Facility, the utility has spent more than NT$1.7 billion (US$57
million) in compensation for Lanyu.
That figure includes an annual NT$20 million payment spread among the
six villages on the island — which is managed by a commission at the
Lanyu Township Office — between NT$2 million and NT$3 million a year
to lease the land on which the storage facility sits; an annual
employment service fund of NT$440 million; and a “good neighbor fund”
of NT$4 million to NT$5 million a year for emergency assistance and
scholarships, Chih said.
“We also spend about NT$90 million to NT$100 million a year to provide
free electricity for all [residents],” he added…….
Liklun, a 49-year-old woman from Imourud Village — administratively
known as Hongtou Village (紅頭) — said it was time for the Taos to wake
up.
“Taipower built the storage facility through a lie. We need to think
beyond our generation, think of our children and grandchildren,” she
said.
When asked whether she thinks the NT$1.7 billion compensation from
Taipower was helping the island, she responded with a question: “Look
at the condition of the roads on this island — do we look like a place
with NT$1.7 billion invested in development?”
Sinan Mavivo, an anti-nuclear waste activist, agreed.
“Taipower contaminates our island with nuclear waste and it also
contaminates our minds with money,” she said. “They are trying to make
us think that we cannot live without nuclear waste.”…
Meanwhile, a former Tao employee of Taipower — who also spoke on
condition of anonymity — said a lot of Taos depend on Taipower for jobs and are afraid of losing their jobs if they tell people what they really think.
“You may think it’s OK to speak to the press anonymously, but it’s
still dangerous because there aren’t many people living on this
island. It’s not hard to guess who it is,” the former employee said.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2012/03/19/2003528162/3

March 20, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, Taiwan, wastes