TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – On the eve of an anti-nuclear protest, the environment ministry on Friday (April 26) emphasized it would only consider nuclear energy if it is safe, there are practical solutions for nuclear waste, and there is a public consensus.

Opponents of nuclear energy will sit down in front of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei City on Saturday (April 27) to protest against moves by the opposition to extend the life of Taiwan’s three nuclear power plants. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government wants to turn Taiwan into a nuclear-free homeland by 2025.

Deputy Minister Shih Wen-chen (施文真) said the environment ministry was standing by its determination that the safety of nuclear energy needed to be guaranteed, per Radio Taiwan International (RTI). A viable solution also needed to be found for the storage of nuclear waste, while the nation also needed to reach a consensus about what to do about nuclear energy, she said.

Shih added that ministers had delivered the same message at the Legislative Yuan, and at last year’s COP28 United Nations Climate Change Conference. Opposition voices and business leaders claim that Taiwan is facing power shortages, while proposing the notion that nuclear reactors are more climate-friendly than other forms of energy production methods.

The anti-nuclear movement said the move by opposition legislators to amend the law and extend the life of Taiwan’s nuclear plants is not based on scientific data, and did not have the approval of a public majority.