Experts see nuclear policy shift in Lai’s pledge not to rule out energy options

President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) pledge in his National Day address not to rule out energy options for ideological reasons signals an important shift that could help pave the way for a return to nuclear power, experts said.

Lai’s remarks

In his Oct. 10 address, Lai pledged to ensure energy security and power stability alongside Taiwan's net-zero transition by expanding renewables, grid resilience, and conservation, while pragmatically evaluating all energy options against scientific and safety standards.

“Energy policy cannot be built on slogans; it must be built on considerations of safety, expertise, and responsibility,” Lai said. “We will not rule out options solely for ideological reasons, nor will we compromise the sustainability of future generations for short-term gains.”

Thanking lawmakers for amending the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act, Lai confirmed on March 21 that state-run Taipower was proceeding with restart procedures after an economic ministry review found the Kuosheng and Maanshan nuclear plants eligible for reactivation.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs' (MOEA) 2030 Energy Transition White Paper, released on June 19, proposed a pragmatic reassessment of nuclear restarts to meet AI-driven electricity demand and volatile energy markets, provided projects satisfy strict safety benchmarks, solve waste disposal, and secure public consensus. However, it did not include nuclear power in its current planning for emissions reductions by 2030 and net zero by 2050. 

A signal of a shift

Huang Shih-hsiu (黃士修), founder of Nuclear Mythbusters and a leading campaigner for the 2018 referendum on using nuclear power to support green energy, told TCN that Lai’s remarks marked a shift in policy.

Huang said Lai’s pledge not to rule out options for ideological reasons challenged the Democratic Progressive Party’s longstanding commitment to a nuclear-free homeland, which he described as a political taboo, as well as what he called an interest structure built around the nuclear phaseout under former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).

Combined with Lai’s earlier moves to propose restarting the third nuclear power plant and then include the second, Huang said, the remarks showed that Lai was working to make nuclear power an acceptable option again, shifting it from a “taboo” to a “scientific and pragmatic option.”

Chang Yuan-hsiang (張元祥), a political scientist at Soochow University, expressed a similar view but said Lai’s position had not changed overnight.

Chang told TCN that the pivot in Lai’s nuclear policy traces back roughly three years to his 2023 presidential campaign. During a forum at National Taiwan University, then-Vice President Lai first signaled flexibility by noting that government agencies were planning to maintain decommissioned reactors on standby for emergency use.

Lai solidified this policy shift after taking office by naming pro-nuclear tech executive Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢) to his newly formed climate committee and publicly distancing the DPP from rigid anti-nuclear dogma, culminating in Taipower’s March 2026 application for Maanshan that formally initiated the restart review process, Chang said.

Interest in small modular reactors

Chang said restarting the second and third nuclear plants would be only the first step in moving away from the nuclear-free homeland policy, adding that the DPP government’s main goal was to develop small modular reactors (SMRs).

That effort reflects not only the need to support the development of the AI and semiconductor industries and ensure a stable power supply for households, Chang said, but also the possibility of using purchases of the technology to significantly reduce Taiwan’s trade surplus with the United States.

Huang shared that assessment, saying that after the political restrictions on nuclear power were lifted, reviews by agencies including the Nuclear Safety Commission and the MOEA could move more quickly toward approval.

Small modular reactors offer flexible deployment and can integrate directly with heavy industries like desalination, hydrogen production, and carbon capture, Huang said, noting they align closely with Premier Cho Jung-tai’s (卓榮泰) vision for "new nuclear energy."

Nuclear power and national security

Taiwan’s heavy dependence on imported liquefied natural gas presents a critical national security vulnerability, Huang warned. He noted that supply lines remain acutely exposed to sudden disruptions, whether from a Chinese military blockade and transport curbs, severe typhoons, or broader geopolitical conflicts.

Highlighting Taiwan’s energy vulnerability under persistent Chinese military threats, Chang noted that natural gas supplied 47.7% of Taiwan’s electricity in 2025 while the statutory minimum gas stock is 11 days, rising to 14 in 2027, — warning that a two-week maritime blockade could deplete supplies and knock out basic power generation.

Framing nuclear power as a multifaceted strategic asset, Chang argued it provides vital baseload power for booming tech sectors like AI in peacetime while bolstering national defense and societal resilience if cross-strait conflict threatens the grid.

Echoing that view, Huang argued that Lai's rhetoric on "whole-of-society defense resilience" and "energy continuity" frames nuclear power as a vital national defense pillar, a posture he noted was likely shaped by strong US pressure.

Defense supply chains, advanced semiconductor foundries, and AI-enabled military computing all depend on continuous baseload electricity, Huang said. Consequently, he noted that nuclear energy, especially SMRs deployed across decentralized sites, acts as critical insurance against a catastrophic grid shutdown during a geopolitical crisis.

Referendum at year’s end

Taiwan will hold local elections on Nov. 28, alongside a referendum that includes an opposition Kuomintang caucus proposal to repeal the nuclear-free homeland policy.

Chang argued that Lai’s actions have effectively dismantled the party's long-standing anti-nuclear policy in practice, noting that rather than overtly opposing the referendum, the DPP has instead anchored its stance to strict conditions on safety, waste disposal, and public consensus.

Noting that Lai barely touched on nuclear power in his National Day remarks, Chang pointed out that with bipartisan consensus largely favoring an end to the "nuclear-free" policy and public support surpassing 60%, the referendum has receded from the forefront of the election campaign.

The referendum was therefore likely to be marginalized and would have no impact on the government’s plans to restart the second and third nuclear plants or on the local elections, Chang said.

Huang said Lai’s relatively friendly stance toward nuclear power amounted to “defusing” the issue, or more precisely, removing a land mine by triggering it in a controlled way, after the opposition had long criticized the government over electricity shortages and its nuclear-free policy.

Huang said some within the DPP worried that Lai’s return to nuclear power would alienate the party’s core supporters, and therefore wanted to keep energy issues out of the campaign and hoped Lai would avoid discussing nuclear power further.

The opposition party that initiated the nuclear power referendum has urged the government to stop playing word games and implement a policy of using nuclear power to boost the economy, Huang said. On that point, he added, Lai and the opposition share an interest.