Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Protesters occupy part of Zhongxiao W Road in front of the Taipei Railway Station during an antinuclear demonstration in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Mandy Cheng, AFP

Tens of thousands took to the streets of Taipei yesterday afternoon in an antinuclear protest that also occupied a section of Zhongxiao W Road in front of Taipei Railway Station.

At 3pm, Ketagalan Boulevard was packed with protesters wearing yellow ribbons that read: “Stop the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. Give Power Back to the People,” as they listened to speeches and prepared to march.

Taiwanese human rights advocates were joined by several foreign counterparts on Thursday in calling for an independent national human rights commission to be established, one that actually has the power to conduct investigations. However, their appeal will likely end up being just another statement in a debate about commissions that goes back decades.

There has been talk about establishing an official rights commission since January 2000, shortly before the first transfer of power from a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration. The key sticking point over the years has been whether such a commission would be an independent agency or part of the government and, if the latter, which branch of government should administer it.