Emissions standards apply to Formosa Plastics too: Hsieh

Carbon dioxide emissions will be one of the items included in the government's assessment of the Formosa Plastics Group's (台塑集團) proposal to build a steel plant in the central county of Yunlin, Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said yesterday.

Hsieh yesterday also pointed out that investors must promise to make substantial contributions to local development before their projects will be approved.

Hsieh's remarks came after several Chinese-language newspaper reports yesterday that Formosa Plastics Group Vice Chairman Wang Yung-tsai (王永在) had requested that the carbon dioxide emissions control not be applied to the steel plant project during his meeting with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) on Wednesday.

Local newspapers reported that Wang asked Chen to help the group get the land needed for the project, shorten the period for environmental evaluation and exclude the project from stricter standards in carbon dioxide emissions. But the Central News Agency quoted another Formosa Plastics' official as saying that the meeting did not touch upon any of the above-mentioned issues.

The Formosa Plastics official said that if the firm encounters difficulties during the application, it will negotiate with the government authorities in charge of such investments, such as the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Environmental Protection Administration, rather than contacting the president to resolve problems.

The group yesterday also refuted reports that it has suspended the investment plan because of concerns over environmental policies; instead it said it would move ahead with its plan to build a NT$135 billion (US$4.3 billion) steel mill in Yunlin County, a company official said.

"We still want to proceed with the project," said Lee Chih-tsuen (李志村), president of Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑).