HN Reader

I wish Taiwan’s reactors were never shut down in the first place, and I hope Taiwan can hold out long enough to get it started back up again. It’s a step towards being able to withstand a blockade (Taiwan lacks oil, gas, and goal resources, so it relies on imports). If PRC chose to attack a nuclear power plant, it might give the necessary pressure for international intervention.

For what it’s worth, I’ve personally walked around the nuclear containment area on Orchid island and swam in the waters around it. It’s a well managed and nice place.

That most probably means Taiwan is planning to get nuclear weapons. Not a bad idea given its neighbors.

That is if China hasn't invaded

My guess is that it’s more about a prolonged blockade rather than a weapons development.

When will they have enough plutonium, if they're only starting in 2028?

This is a fairly significant policy shift - the incumbent DPP has historically been very anti-Nuclear due to the Taiwan's nuclear program historic links to authoritarian rule back in the 1980s along with fear after the Fukushima disaster back in 2011. The party itself was founded in part due to opposition to the Lungmen project back in the early 1980s [0]

[0] - https://www.tepu.org.tw/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/%E5%8F%B0...