Taiwan: Standing on Shaky Ground

It’s a disintegrating nuclear waste dump in a paradise – nearly 100,000 barrels of low level radioactive material sitting on the edge of the Pacific Ring of Fire – the most earthquake prone region in the world. Many of the barrels are rusted and ruptured. The indigenous Tao people of Orchid Island fear widespread contamination and want to know why and how the promise of a fish cannery and jobs actually turned out to be the delivery of a nuclear dump and a toxic legacy. As they rage against a powerful mainland nuclear power company, many more Taiwanese – shocked by Japan’s Fukushima disaster – are joining in.