Taiwan is switching off its final operating nuclear reactor this weekend despite a last-ditch attempt from opposition lawmakers to offer a way back for nuclear energy generation.
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00:01Every day, Chen Longcheng delivers lunch from his restaurant to the nuclear power plant across the road.
00:08The father of two has lived and worked here in Hongchun town in Taiwan's south for more than half his life.
00:16But these are some of the final deliveries before the plant is switched off.
00:21And with that, the country's nuclear power.
00:25Chen thinks that's a bad decision.
00:30If you have a nuclear power plant, you need to continue to support it.
00:36It's better for the people.
00:39And it's okay for the工夫.
00:41If you have a nuclear power plant, the power plant will grow.
00:47Despite growing unease among some about turning off nuclear power,
00:53Taiwan's ruling party is pressing ahead with its longtime goal of a nuclear-free homeland.
01:00It's been increasing wind and solar sources and reducing coal-fired power in favor of natural gas.
01:10Once seen as a cheap and stable way of helping Taiwan industrialize,
01:16nuclear power fell out of public favor.
01:18Because of safety fears, particularly after the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan,
01:25and the problem of where to store nuclear waste.
01:29Since 2017, the operating licenses of all Taiwan's reactors have expired.
01:34Taiwan's third nuclear power plant opened here on the southern coast in the mid-1980s,
01:42when nuclear power accounted for around 50% of the country's electricity.
01:47That's now down to 3%, all produced here, the last of Taiwan's six reactors to shut down.
01:55Taiwan already imports virtually all its energy.
02:00That's led to fears about the country's energy supply in the event of a blockade by China,
02:06which claims sovereignty over Taiwan.
02:09If there's any problem, it's only for two weeks to save.
02:14The price is not enough to say, it's not a stable power plant.
02:20The most stable power plant is the most stable power plant.
02:22Businesses already worry about a power crunch after several mass blackouts.
02:30In a last-ditch effort to keep nuclear power,
02:33Taiwan's opposition-controlled legislature amended the law,
02:38allowing plant operators to apply to run for another 20 years.
02:43That's come too late to keep this reactor running,
02:46and the government says it would take at least a year and a half to restart it.
02:50But President Lai Ching-deh's Democratic Progressive Party
02:54is not ruling out bringing nuclear back sometime in the future.
03:09Reaching public and political consensus will be no easy task.
03:15At least for now,
03:16Taiwan has to adapt to a future with no nuclear power.
03:20And the uncertainty that brings.
03:24Devon Tsai and Louise Watt for Taiwan Plus.