Residents of Meinung township (
The protesters want the incinerator's owner to close the plant immediately and call off plans to open a landfill, which activists say would be used as a depository for hazardous waste the incinerator produces, such as bottom ash (灰渣).
More than 300 Meinung residents pitched tents in front of the incinerator and posted signs that said, "Abandon the incinerator, save our homeland (不要焚化爐確保鄉土)."
Residents said they planned to continue protesting the plant -- which is capable of treating up to 110 tonnes of waste per day -- until it is shut down.
In addition, activists blocked roads to the plant, saying that air and water pollution created by the incinerator plant has jeopardized the health of local residents.
Vegetable farmers are also worried about spoiled crops, they said.
One major area of concern has been the treatment of fly ash (
Activists allege that the incinerator's owner, Jihyu Waste Handling (
"Some bottom ash was stored at the site temporarily and groundwater has been contaminated," residents say.
But company officials refuted those claims, saying no contamination has taken place.
"We store the waste after treating it carefully in advance, so bottom ash stored nearby is non-hazardous," said company representative Huang Wei-ming (黃維銘), adding that he would welcome examination of the firm's bottom ash by residents.
Hsiao Chu-liang (
"Once bottom ash has been dumped at the proposed landfill, both the Kaoping River (高屏溪) and its tributary, the Laonung River (
That, in turn, could result "in poorer quality drinking water for the three million residents of the Kaohsiung metropolitan area," Hsiao said.
According to the Meinung People's Association, Jihyu has applied to open a landfill to deposit bottom ash and other industrial waste generated by the Meinung incinerator and other company operations nationwide. The landfill would accept up to 80 tonnes of industrial waster daily.
But activists say the proposed landfill would be located near where rice and fruit are grown. In addition, they say, the landfill will be full by 2003 and when that happens it wil be abandoned.
Residents say that pollution from the incinerator should be taken seriously, especially in light of a recent incident in which toxic chemical solvents were found to have been dumped in the Kaoping River.
"The Kaoping River is the main water supply for families, industry and irrigation in southern Taiwan," Chang Cheng-yang (
Environmental protection officials from Kaohsiung County government said that the proposed landfill had not been approved yet, but that Jihyu's four-year contract to operate the incinerator would not be cancelled.
The waste incinerator in Meinung is one of more than 100 small-scale incinerators in Taiwan. According to the Environmental Protection Administration, 36 large-scale waste incinerators will be completed by 2003.
Incinerator operators face difficulties in safely treating fly and bottom ash and disposing of the waste.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique