Taiwan will vote on scrapping its nuclear-free energy policy in November, a win for nuclear supporters and industries worried about electricity supply.

• The election commission cleared a referendum asking whether the government should drop its "Nuclear-Free Homeland" policy, citing power costs, defense resilience, and the electricity needs of AI industries.
• Taiwan shut its last reactor in May 2025 under the ruling DPP, completing a phaseout written into law back in 2002.
• This is the fourth nuclear vote since 2018, and past attempts to restart or extend plants failed at the ballot box.
• Two other proposals were thrown out — judicial caning for sex offenders and child abusers, and earmarking traffic fine money for road safety — on the grounds they fall outside what referendums can legally cover.
• The opposition KMT and TPP accused the commission of blocking direct democracy, with the caning idea rejected unanimously and the traffic fine one by a single vote.

Outlook: The nuclear question goes to voters alongside local elections on Nov. 28, making energy policy a test of the ruling party's standing.