Hundreds of people — mainly university students — last night staged a rally outside the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) to protest a petrochemical industrial park project proposed by Kuokuang Petrochemical Technology Co (KKPTC), ahead of an environmental impact assessment meeting to be held this morning.
Chanting slogans critical of the project, and urging the EPA to reject it, hundreds of students from universities across the country rallied outside the EPA despite the rain and the cool weather.
“We rally here to tell academics and government representatives taking part in the environmental impact assessment meeting that we’re keeping an eye on them,” said Huang Yu-ying (黃裕穎), a junior student at National Tsing Hua University. “The project should be turned down to protect Taiwan’s agriculture and the rich wetland ecosystem.”
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Huang went on to say the site selected for the project on the north side of the mouth of Jhuoshuei River (濁水溪) is one of the very few large wetlands on the west coast following decades of industrial and urban development.
Besides the rich ecosystem of the wetlands, the area is a key agricultural center, with an active marine-farming industry along the coast that produces about one-third of the country’s oysters.
“The wetlands should be declared a natural reserve and properly protected instead of being used for a petrochemical park,” Huang said.
Sharing his concerns, Changhua-based writer Wu Sheng (吳晟) said it was obvious that the economic benefits the development project would bring did not merit the ecological destruction they would cause.
“Petrochemical plants can only last for a few decades, but the rich ecosystem and the deep-rooted farming culture were developed over hundreds if not thousands of years,” Wu said.
“It’s quite obvious how you should choose if the choice is to be made purely based on scientific considerations,” he said.
A 69-year-old man surnamed Wu (吳), born in Changhua but who now runs a bookstore in Taipei, attended the rally and said he would stay overnight to show his concern for his home county.
He recalled how beautiful the Changhua County countryside was when he was a child.
“Development has changed the situation, and the new petrochemical complex would just destroy everything along with the other petrochemical complex already in existence on the south side of the river mouth,” he said. “It’s the capitalists who are going to enjoy the fruits [from the development project], while the people suffer.”
Several bands performed at the rally to show their support.
Hundreds of local residents from Changhua County are scheduled to join the demonstrators this morning as the meeting is scheduled to begin at 9:30am.
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