Taiwan and weapons of mass destruction The Republic of China ( Taiwan ) denies having any weapons of mass destruction . There is no evidence of Taiwan possessing any chemical or nuclear weapon s though it has pursued nuclear weapons in the past . Nuclear weapons . Research program . The development of nuclear weapons by the Republic of China has been a contentious issue , as it has been cited by the PRC as a reason to attack Taiwan . The U . S . , hoping to avoid escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait , has continually opposed arming the Republic of China with nuclear weapons . Accordingly , the Republic of China adheres to the principles of the nuclear Non - Proliferation Treaty and has stated that it does not intend to produce nuclear weapons . Past nuclear research by the ROC makes it a " threshold " nuclear state . In 1967 , a nuclear weapons program began under the auspices of the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research ( INER ) at the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology . The Republic of China was able to acquire nuclear technology from abroad ( including a research reactor from Canada and low - grade plutonium from the United States ) allegedly for a civilian energy system , but in actuality to develop fuel for nuclear weapons . During the 1970s , the Republic of China had an active program to produce plutonium using heavy water reactors . However , after the International Atomic Energy Agency found evidence of the Republic of China ' s efforts to produce weapons - grade plutonium , Taipei agreed in September 1976 under U . S . pressure to dismantle its nuclear weapons program . A study by the Mitre Corporation in 1977 included Taiwan in a list of " insecure " nuclear threshold states — states with the technical capability to develop nuclear weapons and the security motivations to seriously contemplate such an option . The other states were Israel , South Africa , South Korea , and Yugoslavia . U . S . intelligence believed that the Republic of China also had designed devices suitable for nuclear testing . A secret program was revealed when Colonel Chang Hsien - yi , deputy director of nuclear research at INER , who was secretly working for the CIA , defected to the U . S . in December 1987 and produced a cache of incriminating documents . General Hau Pei - tsun claimed that scientists in Taiwan had already produced a controlled nuclear reaction . Under pressure from the U . S . , the program was halted . During the 1995 – 1996 Taiwan Strait crisis , then Republic of China President Lee Teng - hui proposed to reactivate the program , but was forced to back down a few days later after drawing intense criticism . Current status . There is no evidence that the ROC possesses any nuclear weapons or any programs to produce them , although it does have the general technological ability to develop the ability to enrich uranium or process plutonium . The Republic of China ' s nuclear power plants use imported enriched uranium and are subject to International Atomic Energy Agency inspection . The People ' s Republic of China has announced that any Republic of China possession of nuclear weapons is grounds for an immediate attack . Attempts by ROC officials to form a dialogue with the PRC on the subject of weapons of mass destruction s have been rebuffed . Chemical weapons . The Republic of China may be in possession of small quantities of sarin . However , the Republic of China government has stated that any such materials are only for defensive research purposes and that it does not have any intention of producing offensive chemical weapons . Missile Technology . In response to former Defense Minister Tsai Ming - hsien ' s announcement that the RoC has developed medium range missiles , the Ministry of National Defense ( MND ) said that he " should be more conscious of national security " . In this book " God Bless Taiwan , " Tsai stated that the missile had been test fired in southern Taiwan on February 2008 and that its performance was credible . Ratification of international treaties . The Republic of China ratified the Geneva Protocol on August 7 , 1929 and the Nuclear Non - Proliferation Treaty ( NPT ) in 1970 . Following UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 ( 1971 ) the United Nations does not recognize the Republic of China as a legitimate political entity , and as such does not recognize any right that the ROC has to join international multilateral treaties . Because of its controversial political status , the ROC has not been allowed to join either the Biological Weapons Convention nor the Chemical Weapons Convention , but it has stated that it will abide by both treaties nevertheless . In addition , it has stated that it will continue to abide by the NPT , notwithstanding controversy over its political status .