Low turnout at anti-nuclear rally as Taiwan banks on new leader Tsai Ing-wen’s vow to abolish atomic energy use by 2025 via South China Morning Post

Taipei, Taiwan:  An annual anti-nuclear rally in Taiwan today saw a much lower turnout than previous years as president-elect Tsai Ing-wen vows to abolish the use of atomic energy on the island by 2025.

Hundreds of people gathered outside Taipei’s Presidential Palace in the rain, many wearing yellow ribbons and stickers bearing the slogans “Say goodbye to nuclear” and “Nuclear go zero”.

However, the crowd was noticeably smaller than the the thousands who joined last year’s protest.

Organisers chalked up the demonstration’s small showing to the Democratic Progressive Party’s victory at the polls in January. The DPP has promised, along with a slew of new political parties set to enter parliament, to phase out the use of nuclear energy.

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Taiwan, like Japan, is prone to frequent quakes as the island lies on a number of fault lines.

Protesters on Saturday also called on the government to propose new measures to safely store nuclear waste.

“There hasn’t been a comprehensive plan to deal with nuclear waste. We need to face this for our children,” said Elvin Wu, 35, who attended the rally with her five-year-old daughter.

“If the waste cannot be effectively processed, then we hope that the nuclear plants will be shut down,” she said.