Taiwan votes on recalling opposition lawmakers, reviving nuclear power

TAIPEI (AP): Voters in Taiwan are deciding Saturday whether to dismiss seven opposition members from the legislature and on a return to nuclear power five months after the last operating reactor shut down.

The recall votes, the second in a month, are an attempt to restore ruling party control of the legislature after the Democratic Progressive Party lost its majority in a 2024 election.

The prospects for doing so appear dim after 24 members of the opposition Nationalist Party all survived a first round of recall votes on July 26.

The Democratic Progressive Party won the presidency in 2024 but neither party took a majority in the 113-seat legislature. The Nationalists, also known as the Kuomintang or KMT, won 52 seats, one more than the DPP.

The Nationalists have teamed up with a third party, the Taiwan People’s Party, to pass legislation, much to the consternation of the ruling DPP.

The referendum on nuclear power

The DPP has been phasing out nuclear power, which once provided about 20 percent of Taiwan’s electricity. The last operating reactor at the self-governing island’s three nuclear plants was shut in May after 40 years in service.

But the same month, the legislature approved a proposal from the Taiwan People’s Party to hold a referendum on extending nuclear power, with the support of the Nationalists.

The referendum asks voters if the most recently shut nuclear plant should continue operating, assuming regulators agree it is safe to do so. The Maanshan plant, commonly called the third nuclear power plant, is near Taiwan’s southern tip.

Backers of nuclear power have said it would reduce electricity bills and help meet the growing demand for power from artificial intelligence applications.

Jensen Huang, the Taiwan-born founder of American chip giant Nvidia, backed nuclear power when asked about the issue after arriving at the airport Friday in the capital, Taipei.

Citing AI’s need for energy, he told reporters he hopes that all options will be explored. “There’s excellent technologies for sustainable energy – solar and wind,” he said. “And nuclear is an excellent option.”

In May, Nvidia announced it would team up with Taiwan electronics manufacturer Foxconn to build an AI supercomputer for the island’s researchers and companies.