Taiwan anti-nuclear activist starts hunger strike via New Straits Times

TAIPEI: Former Taiwanese opposition leader and anti-nuclear activist Lin Yi-hsiung Tuesday launched an indefinite hunger strike in protest at a nearly completed nuclear facility, while some of his supporters clashed with police.

“It’s very meaningful to be doing something good for Taiwan — I feel very  calm,” Lin told a crowd of reporters and supporters before he began the hunger  strike.

He added he had been forced into the situation because the authorities had  ignored public opinion on nuclear power. He said the majority of people in  Taiwan were against a fourth nuclear power plant.

Lin, who led the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) from  1998-2000, has devoted himself to battling the island’s nuclear power policy in  the past two decades.

“If anything unfortunate should happen to me, I want my family and friends  to know that (those in power) murdered me,” the 72-year-old said before  entering a church in Taipei to begin his indefinite fasting.

Outside parliament, dozens of protesters briefly clashed with the police as  they attempted to surround the building in a show of support for Lin.