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Short abstract:

Taiwan has faced great challenges in resolving nuclear waste siting issue. CID employs innovative participatory methods, emphasizing interactive engagement among stakeholders, to break the stalemate and foster meaningful techno-science discussions as well as reflection on waste disposal choices.

Long abstract:

In Taiwan, three nuclear power plants from the 1970s are now undergoing decommissioning. Yet, the absence of a disposal site for nuclear waste persists, and the spent fuel remains in the deactivated reactors due to disputes over dry storage facilities. Legislation for low-level nuclear waste exists since 2006 but lacks progress in site selection due to local government resistance to conducting public referendums for the nuclear waste siting candidacy.

Finding a home for nuclear waste is highly challenging, intertwined with polarized pro-nuclear and anti-nuclear sentiments in society. In the dynamic landscape of nuclear power in Taiwan, this article focuses on the innovative social communication initiatives, designed by the Centre for Innovative Democracy (CID), aimed at breaking through the stalemate surrounding nuclear waste. Since the initiative started in 2019, the CID has been able to map out the issue, find collaborative actors, develop communication programs at different levels and feed back into the policy process. Unlike traditional techno-scientific approaches that often emphasize one-way informed processes, the CID’s methodology addresses interactive engagement among stakeholders including the community people, experts, citizens and policymakers. Drawing inspiration from STS research, the CID employs multiple tools and creates contextualized models like negotiation theater involving non-human actors, to foster meaningful techno-science discussions and reflection on waste disposal choices. The experimental efforts aim to break the stalemate by engaging citizens in broadening perspectives on the deadlock issue, and empowering participants to contribute to solutions.