ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with Taiwan's nuclear energy controversy. It provides a brief historical overview of the Kuomintang's (KMT) nuclear energy policies and the birth of an anti-nuclear movement. The Sunflower Student Movement took place between March and April 2014 in Taiwan and was mainly focused on requesting a clause- to-clause review of the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement (CSSTA). The chapter enumerates the many problems pertaining to Nuclear Power Plant number 4 (NPP-4) construction, since its very first planning phase, more than two decades ago. It focuses on the post-Fukushima period and tries to gauge how different stakeholders have exploited nuclear-related fears to their own advantage. The chapter illustrates the motives for the KMT government to propose a referendum to decide the fate of NPP-4 and analyzes the most recent changes in regards to the temporary halting of the construction of the island's fourth nuclear facility.
