We take a look back at outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen's continuation of the Democratic Progressive Party's no-nuclear homeland program, as well as her oversight of Taiwan's rapid expansion of renewable energy.
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00:00 Simulating a nuclear disaster.
00:06 With the change in Taiwan's leadership imminent,
00:09 protesters in the capital Taipei fear a reversal
00:12 to the government's planned abolition of nuclear energy.
00:15 We feel that unfortunately Tsai Ing-wen is about to resign.
00:18 After President Tsai Ing-wen took office,
00:21 the Legislative Yuan and the Nationalist Party have taken the lead.
00:23 So perhaps the "United Forces" will be back in power again.
00:27 President Tsai Ing-wen's successor is her vice president Lai Ching-te.
00:31 But while their Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP,
00:34 won the presidency for a third term in January elections,
00:38 the opposition Kuomintang, or KMT, won a slight majority of legislative seats
00:44 and now hopes to undo the DPP's nuclear energy phase-out.
00:49 The DPP has its roots in the anti-nuclear movement.
00:53 And since the party's founding in 1986,
00:56 it has worked towards phasing out nuclear energy.
00:59 Back then, nuclear power made up over 40% of Taiwan's energy mix.
01:05 When President Tsai Ing-wen took office 30 years later,
01:08 it was at 12%. Now it's at 6%.
01:12 And that all comes from here, Taiwan's last running nuclear power plant.
01:17 Under the DPP's "No Nuclear Homeland" policy launched in 2017,
01:22 President Tsai has overseen the shutdown of two others,
01:26 leaving just this one, which is also set to close by next year.
01:31 Tsai has had to balance meeting a global commitment to net-zero emissions
01:35 with skyrocketing industrial demand for energy domestically,
01:39 especially from power-intensive semiconductor manufacturing.
01:44 More than 90% of the world's most advanced chips are made here.
01:48 Since the start of Tsai's eight years in office,
01:51 Taiwan's share of renewable energy, like solar and wind,
01:54 has doubled from 5% to almost 10%,
01:58 still a long way from the 2025 target of 20%.
02:03 But the breakneck speed of this energy transition
02:06 has led to disputes over land with local communities
02:09 and greater reliance on imported methane gas,
02:12 which, like coal, is vulnerable to supply disruptions
02:16 and emits more potent greenhouse gases.
02:20 But it's still a power plant,
02:23 so it will still emit a lot of emissions.
02:27 So the ultimate goal is to increase the proportion of renewable energy.
02:33 A growing number of nuclear energy advocates say that to avoid an energy crisis,
02:38 Taiwan must rethink its most controversial power source.
02:42 I support the idea of developing renewable energy,
02:47 but you have to keep the baseload,
02:50 and the baseload must be nuclear,
02:52 because if we are talking about green, then nuclear is the solution.
02:57 And this green energy is actually recognised by most countries in the world.
03:05 Despite her administration's push towards phasing out nuclear energy,
03:10 Tsai leaves office with public opinion on the matter still divided.
03:14 And there are external factors also at play,
03:17 like military threats from neighbouring China,
03:20 which claims sovereignty over Taiwan.
03:23 Nuclear energy is one of these issues that's long contested in Taiwanese politics,
03:26 and that is true before Tsai's term and it will be true after.
03:30 But I think what's interesting too is that under Tsai,
03:33 we do see rising threats from China,
03:35 and so it has come up a few times, for example,
03:37 that nuclear could potentially be useful in the event of a Chinese invasion,
03:41 because of the fact that there would be needs for energy.
03:43 Under Tsai, Taiwan's energy programme has seen a change in winds.
03:48 She has expanded renewables and faithfully continued the DPP's no nuclear homeland policy.
03:54 But with growing calls for a rethink,
03:57 her no-nuke supporters may see their worst fears come to light when she passes on the torch.
04:03 Chris Ma and Sally Ensign for Taiwan Plus.
04:06 [BLANK_AUDIO]