After
an exceedingly close fought election, Taiwan’s incumbent president Ma
Ying-jeou this month defeated his opponent to secure a second term in
office. Besides the recurring theme of relations with China, the
election was characterized by socio-economic issues and the re-emergence
of the traditionally contentious nuclear energy issue. Not only was the
outcome a vote in favor of cross-strait stability and economic
prosperity, but it also partially decided the future of the island’s
energy infrastructure.
For decades, activist-, local- and religious groups have supported the
removal of nuclear power – generated by six reactors – from Taiwan’s
energy mix. However, last year’s Fukushima crisis in Japan catapulted
the negative consequences of atomic energy into the pre-election
spotlight. As polls were so closely contested, both the
environmentally-conscious opposition, the Democratic Progressive Party’s
(DPP), and the ruling pro-business Kuomintang (KMT), were eager to
jump onto the anti-nuclear bandwagon in response to rising public ...
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