The commission convened its referendum review session and disposed of the submitted proposals. The measure asking whether to repeal the electricity act's nuclear-free homeland clause met the requirements and will proceed to a public vote.

The other two were rejected. On the caning proposal, reviewers uniformly opposed, so no vote was taken at all.

The fourth nuclear ballot in eight years

This is the fourth referendum on nuclear power in eight years, with proposals to extend or restart plants alternating with proposals to shut them. Anti-nuclear groups say they have had enough of repeated ballots.

Supporters cite supply stability, electricity prices and carbon reduction. Opponents cite earthquake risk and the absence of a spent-fuel repository. The arguments have changed little from ballot to ballot; what has changed is demand, as semiconductor production and data centers keep raising industrial electricity use.

A view on the procedure

Local commentary questions a structure that places a review body in the position of judging the political weight of proposals. When matters that belong to the legislature repeatedly go to referendum, the argument runs, the legislature should examine its own role.

The voting date and exact wording will be fixed in later steps. Because energy policy bears directly on firms with production in Taiwan and on their supply chains, Korean and Chinese-heritage business circles will be watching.