Taiwanese stage anti-nuclear protest

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) -- About 2,000 people have staged an anti-nuclear protest in Taiwan's capital as they observed a moment of silence to mourn the victims of the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan one year ago.

The protesters paraded in Taipei on Sunday to renew calls for a nuclear-free island by taking lessons from Japan's disaster on March 11, 2011, which triggered meltdowns at three nuclear reactors.

They want the government to scrap a plan to operate a newly constructed nuclear power plant -- the fourth in densely populated Taiwan.

Scores of aboriginal protesters demanded the removal of 100,000 barrels of nuclear waste stored on their Orchid Island, off southeastern Taiwan. Authorities have failed to find a substitute storage site amid increased awareness of nuclear danger over the past decade. Source