TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan residents face a critical choice as overwhelming support for nuclear power meets stubborn voter apathy in the island's most consequential energy referendum in years. Polling data released Monday (Aug. 11) shows 65% of residents with voting intentions would support restarting the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant (核三), while only 23% oppose the Aug. 23 measure. The Taiwan People's Party (TPP, a centrist political party) proposal, backed by the opposition Kuomintang (KMT, Taiwan's main conservative party), poses a simple question about nuclear safety and energy independence.
The comprehensive TVBS Poll Center (TVBS民意調查中心) survey of 1,044 Taiwan residents aged 20 and above, conducted Aug. 1-8 through dual landline and mobile phone interviews, exposed a troubling awareness gap that could determine the referendum's fate. Participation intentions varied dramatically across the island, with 48% committed to voting, 21% expressing uncertainty, and 24% planning to abstain entirely. Taiwan's Referendum Act sets formidable hurdles: "agree" votes must exceed "disagree" votes and constitute at least one-quarter of all eligible voters, with failure preventing identical questions for two years.
TVBS researchers cautioned that actual voter turnout typically falls short of expressed intentions, casting doubt on whether the referendum will meet legal thresholds that have historically proven challenging. The vote arrives amid Taiwan's urgent energy security debates and fierce disagreements over nuclear power's diminishing role in the island's energy mix. Nuclear Plant 3, situated in southern Taiwan's Pingtung County's Hengchun Township, was permanently shuttered in May after four decades of service, marking the end of Taiwan's nuclear era as the last operational facility among three plants that once generated 52.4% of electricity in 1985.
The methodologically rigorous TVBS survey, carrying a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at 95% confidence, initially contacted 1,300 residents before encountering 256 refusals. This 19.7% rejection rate underscores polling challenges in Taiwan's politically charged environment where nuclear energy remains deeply divisive. The debate has intensified with scheduled televised presentations featuring prominent business and political figures, while Taiwan's mixed referendum history adds uncertainty to outcome predictions. ◼
