Officials from the National Science Council (NSC) said yesterday that they would find out who was responsible for the failure of a local manufacturer to proceed with an environmental impact assessment (EIA) before building a new plant two years ago, adding that the controversial case would not be left for the new government to handle.
The case involves the failure of United Microelectronics Corp (UMC,
The NSC, which oversees the Science-based Industrial Park Administration (SIPA), has now come under pressure to deal with the issue -- prompting a visit by officials to Hsinchu yesterday.
The visit was also aimed at easing tensions between the Hsinchu municipal and county governments and the park over urban planning problems.
"I will complete the ongoing investigation over the UMC case, and punish officials who neglected their duties by May 18 -- when all members of the Cabinet will resign," NSC chairman Hwang Jenn-tai (
At a mediation lunch with Hsinchu mayor Tsai Jen-chien (
Tsai complained on Wednesday about contradictory regulations and laws pertaining to local governments and the park.
Hwang, however, said yesterday that local urban development plans could be carried out with cooperation and existing conflicts on environmental and urban planning issues would be eventually solved.
The NSC said it would budget NT$200 million for SIPA to contribute to public construction projects planned by various local governments next year.
Hwang said that UMC was innocent, because it had followed SIPA's instructions when applying for the project.
"We will do our best to communicate with the EPA in a bid to limit UMC's losses caused by the forced shutdown of its plant," said Hwang.
The EPA is to review UMC's EIA report today, and it is believed the review, now two years overdue, will be approved. UMC officials voiced their concern yesterday over possible huge financial losses the plant closure could cause.
"We hope to pass the EIA review tomorrow and resume operations on April 29," said UMC's board vice chairman, Hsueh Ming-chih (宣明智).
At a public hearing held by legislators in Taipei yesterday, SIPA officials were not so confident that the EIA would be quickly passed.
"Although our staff did not question the scientific data provided by UMC, we still need to wait and see the EPA's final decision," said Chou San-yi (
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
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A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
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