Taiwan Shuts Second-to-Last Nuclear Plant in Controversial Shift

Taiwan will shut down its second-to-last nuclear plant on Saturday in a move likely to make the island at the center of US-China tensions even more dependent on the outside world for energy.

The closure of reactor No. 1 at the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant on the southern tip of Taiwan comes amid a continuing debate among lawmakers about whether to extend the lives of the island’s existing atomic energy facilities. Nuclear currently accounts for about 5% of Taiwan’s energy use, which is dominated by coal and liquified natural gas.

Energy security is a critical issue for Taiwan and its ...