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Climate protest gives Formosa Plastics a chilly reception

Anti-Global Warming demonstrations protest against Formosa Plastics' planned expansion. PHOTO COURTESY OF GREEN PARTY TAIWAN

Taiwan's carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced. That is the message the Anti-Global Warming demonstration wants to send to the nation's citizens and elected officials.

The demonstrations come just over a week after Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd signed the Kyoto Protocol, making the US the only industrialized country not to join.

Calvin Wen (溫炳原), a member of Green Party Taiwan's central executive committee, said Rudd's actions could serve as an example to Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電), Taiwan's state-run power company, and the nation's leaders. "Sometimes we are really pissed off at Taipower because it is given so many resources but does very little for the environment," he said. "They seem to spend more money on convincing people of their policies than creating long-range policies useful to the public."

This year, though, demonstrators are taking aim at Formosa Plastics' (台塑) plan to build a steel refinery in Changhua, an ambitions proposal that, according to Wen, serves to highlight Taiwan's lack of progress in cutting carbon dioxide emissions.

Protest organizers are also trying to empower people from the bottom up, Wen said, in an effort to persuade Taiwan's main presidential candidates, the Democratic Progressive Party's Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and the Chinese Nationalist Party's Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), to make climate change a priority.

Beginning tomorrow, Anti-Global Warming rallies will be held in cities and counties throughout the nation. The Taipei march begins at the Guangfu South Road side of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall tomorrow at 1pm and will proceed to Taipei 101. For more information, visit blog.yam.com/climatechange. 

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