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28,500 Taiwanese anti-nuclear demonstrators met with water cannons

Taiwan uses water cannon to disperse anti-nuclear protesters The West Australian, 28 April 14, Taipei (AFP) – Taiwan police on Monday used water cannon to dislodge hundreds of demonstrators blocking a main road in the capital to demand the scrapping of a controversial nuclear power plant.

An estimated 28,500 anti-nuclear demonstrators had blockaded one of Taipei’s busiest streets Sunday, forcing the ruling Kuomintang party to yield and halt construction work at the nearly completed plant.

The concession prompted many demonstrators to leave but hundreds remained, causing police to use water cannon to disperse them on Monday morning…….

A Kuomintang spokesman announced Sunday there would be no further work on this reactor. After safety checks, it would be sealed.

“Construction of reactor two will be terminated,” the spokesman said. “In the future, any such commercial operation will be decided by a referendum.”

The government has already offered to hold a referendum on the future of the power plant, but opponents say the vote’s proposed terms would be too restrictive.

Protest organisers said they would keep watching to see if the government fulfils its promises……..

Like Japan, Taiwan is regularly hit by earthquakes. In September 1999 a 7.6-magnitude quake killed around 2,400 people in the island’s deadliest natural disaster in recent history……https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/world/a/23032473/taiwan-uses-water-cannon-to-disperse-anti-nuclear-protesters/

April 29, 2014 - Posted by Christina MacPherson | opposition to nuclear, Taiwan