TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Wednesday said that it is impossible for the operating license of No. 2 reactor at the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant to be extended or the plant restarted without undergoing a thorough evaluation.
Lai said that by law, the No. 2 reactor at Maanshan — Taiwan's last operating nuclear reactor — is scheduled to be decommissioned Saturday, per CNA. He said this moment will mark Taiwan’s official entry into the era of a “nuclear-free homeland."
The president said that globally, whether shutting down, extending, or restarting nuclear power plants, the process always involves rigorous scientific evaluation, broad social consensus, and often, substantial budget allocations.
“Yet yesterday, just four days before the decommissioning of the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant, the legislature passed an amendment to the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act allowing the operational lifespan of nuclear reactors to be extended from 40 to 60 years,” said Lai.
Lai said that even with the newly passed provisions of the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act "it is impossible for the No. 2 reactor at the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant to have its operating license directly extended or be immediately restarted without undergoing a substantial review."
He said the government's consistent position on nuclear energy is not to rule out any solutions or discussions that help achieve net-zero emissions. However, Lai stressed that any policy change must meet three key conditions:
- No concerns about nuclear safety
- Solutions for nuclear waste disposal
- Social consensus
Only if these conditions are met can any further action be considered, said Lai.
The president added that in three days, Taiwan will reach a new starting point for a nuclear-free homeland, but will also face major challenges such as climate change, geopolitics, and economic restructuring. “We should acknowledge the consensus reached by ruling and opposition parties on the nuclear-free homeland, and we must also thank civil society for its long-standing efforts toward a sustainable Taiwan,” said Lai.
