TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Daniel M. Tsai (蔡明忠), chairman of Fubon Group (富邦集團), one of Taiwan's largest financial conglomerates, called on Tuesday (May 27) for the inclusion of the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant (核三廠) as a backup power source, claiming broad public support for the measure. His remarks echo recent comments by NVIDIA (輝達) CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), who encouraged Taiwan's government to invest in nuclear energy and warned against dismissing potential energy solutions based on stigma alone.
The financial leader stressed Taiwan's urgent need for a more diversified energy strategy, pointing to the island's heavy dependence on imported energy, which currently exceeds 80% of total consumption. Tsai underscored the importance of boosting domestic energy production capabilities to reduce this vulnerability. While acknowledging the promising future of advanced nuclear technologies and small modular reactors (SMRs), he cautioned that bringing these innovations to commercial viability would require substantial time investment, potentially extending beyond ten years.
Addressing Taiwan's climate commitments, Tsai emphasized the critical need to decrease reliance on coal-fired power generation in the immediate future, recommending natural gas as a cleaner transitional energy source. Shifting to economic matters, the Fubon chairman observed that policies implemented by President Trump have created ripple effects throughout global markets, ultimately dampening consumer confidence within Taiwan's growing e-commerce landscape.
Looking toward future developments, Tsai voiced confidence in Taiwan's e-commerce sector, projecting that the current penetration rate of 12-13% could potentially exceed 20% in coming years. The business leader noted ongoing concerns about unpredictable U.S. policy directions and their worldwide economic consequences. He suggested that the steady strengthening of the New Taiwan dollar should naturally follow market forces, allowing industries sufficient time to adjust their operations accordingly. While maintaining a generally conservative economic outlook for the current year, Tsai recognized the Taiwan government's determined efforts to achieve its targeted 3% GDP growth rate. ◼
