A number of former workers of US company Radio Corporation of America (RCA) filed a lawsuit against the firm and another US company General Electric, which bought RCA in 1986, seeking compensation totaling NT$2.4 billion (US$72 million) for cancers suffered as a result of working for the company.
Former factory worker Chien Mei-ling (簡美伶), representing victims and their families, told a press conference yesterday that RCA opened a factory in Taoyuan City in 1960 to produce TV sets. The factory closed in 1992.
She said more than 80,000 people worked at the factory during the 22 years it was open, and of these 349 victims or relatives were involved in the lawsuit, of whom 32 had died of various cancers.
Chien added that in 1994 legislators had revealed for the first time that the factory had been responsible for polluting the local water supply with poisonous chemicals.
In 1998 the Environmental Protection Administration announced that land and water around the factory were seriously polluted.
Chien said that employees were exposed to pollution through groundwater they drank with many workers claiming it tasted strange.
A lawyer from non-governmental organization Legal Aid Foundation (LAF), Joseph Lin (
He said the Council of Labor Affairs on eight occasions, from 1975 to 1991, had checked the factory, and each time the factory failed to pass safety checks.
A victim's sister surnamed Yang told the press conference that her sibling would not have suffered cancer and died aged only 50 if she had not worked at the factory.
"The RCA factory polluted Taiwan's land and water, leaving thousands of families in pain," Yang said.
The Taipei District Court began hearing the compensation trial yesterday afternoon.
Lin told the court that in many countries companies being sued in serious environmental pollution cases must prove their innocence, rather than alleged victims having to prove the firm's responsibility.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
RSS