A referendum to push for the reopening of Taiwan’s last nuclear plant has failed to reach the legal threshold to be valid, though the president said the island could return to the technology in the future if safety standards improved.
The plebiscite on Saturday, backed by the opposition, asked whether the Maanshan power plant should be reopened if it was “confirmed” there were no safety issues. The plant was closed in May as the government shifts to renewables and liquefied natural gas.
The small Taiwan People’s party proposed the referendum earlier this year, and with the backing of the much larger Kuomintang (KMT) passed the legislation for the vote, saying Taiwan needs reliable power supplies and not to be so reliant on imports.
About 4.3 million people voted in favour of the plant’s reopening in the referendum, a clear majority over the 1.5 million who voted against, figures from the Central Election Commission showed.
But the motion needed the backing of one quarter of all registered electors – about 5 million people – to get through under electoral law, meaning the plant on Taiwan’s southern tip will not reopen.
People walk with the Maanshan nuclear power plant in the background in Pingtung. Photograph: Ann Wang/Reuters
Taiwan’s government says there are major safety concerns around generating nuclear power in earthquake-prone Taiwan and handling nuclear waste.
President Lai Ching-te told reporters on Saturday evening that while the referendum had failed, he understood “society’s expectations for diverse energy options”.
“If, in the future, the technology becomes safer, nuclear waste is reduced and societal acceptance increases, we will not rule out advanced nuclear energy,” he said.
In a separate vote on Saturday, electors rejected the recall of seven KMT legislators.
A larger recall vote, to try to oust 24 legislators from the same party, also failed last month.
Civic groups who had run the recall campaigns, with the backing of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive party, accused the lawmakers of being too close to China and intentionally trying to snarl government spending and legislation, charges the legislators strongly denied.
