Taiwanese voters on Saturday rejected a proposal to restart the Maanshan nuclear power plant, the island’s last reactor, after the ballot fell short of the legal turnout requirement. Although roughly 4.34 million people backed reopening the facility against 1.51 million opposed, the ‘yes’ tally represented only 21.7% of eligible voters, below the 25% threshold mandated for a referendum to pass, the Central Election Commission said. The plebiscite, initiated by the Taiwan People’s Party and supported by the opposition Kuomintang, sought to reverse the government’s May shutdown of Maanshan, which completed Taipei’s plan to phase out nuclear power by 2025. Business groups have warned of tighter electricity supply as semiconductor and artificial-intelligence industries expand, while the government insists it can meet demand with liquefied natural gas and renewables. President Lai Ching-te, who had urged voters to oppose the measure, acknowledged the public’s desire for diversified energy sources but reiterated that safety and waste-disposal concerns remain paramount. Lai said his administration would keep an “open attitude” toward advanced nuclear technologies if future safety standards improve. In a separate ballot the same day, electors rejected recall motions against seven Kuomintang legislators, the second consecutive round of failed opposition-led recalls this summer. The results preserve the opposition’s majority in the Legislative Yuan, maintaining a political split that has complicated Lai’s legislative agenda since he took office in January.