Environmental groups yesterday criticized the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) for its reluctance to pursue criminal cases against industrial polluters accused of dumping toxic mercury-tainted waste in Pingtung County.
Last Friday, long-term negotiations between the Pingtung County Government and Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑) resulted in an agreement between both sides to share the costs of cleaning up an illegal waste dump in Hsinyuan (新園) township, where significant amounts of toxic mercury-tainted sludge was discovered in 1999. The agency also signed on to the NT$240 million cleanup-project agreement as a party.
The government agrees to pay NT$90 million, while Formosa pays the remaining NT$150 million.
Legislators and environmentalists yesterday criticized the EPA for its lack of courage in tackling influential companies.
"The EPA should have not made the notorious pollution event a precedent to be followed by other industrial polluters," Green Formosa Front chairman Wu Tung-jye (
The waste was secretly dumped by a bogus waste handler, Yuntai, that contracted with Formosa. Since February 2000, the Pingtung County Government has intended to carry out an administrative disciplinary action for Formosa, which refused to obey and filed a lawsuit against the local authority. Formosa, since then, had declined to confirm its relationship with the waste.
In 2001, the Control Yuan concluded that the waste was originally generated by Formosa, and censured related bodies, including the EPA and local governments.
To save administrative cost, the Kaohsiung High Administrative Court had encouraged the parties to come to an arrangement.
Eric Liou (
"The EPA's behavior shows the lack of environmental justice and the government's dignity," Liou said.
Liou argued that the EPA should punish related parties according to the Soil and Ground-water Pollution Remediation Act (土壤及地下水污染整治法) without spending a cent.
Legislators said that Formosa Group chairman Wang Yung-ching (
"At this moment, we'd like to see Formosa's corporate responsibility from Wang," DPP Legislator Eugene Jao (
Jao said that the Legislative Yuan would do its best to freeze budgets pertaining to the cleanup project.
In 1998, Formosa shipped 2,700 tonnes of toxic waste to Cambodia which was improperly discarded.
In 1999, backing down to international pressure, Formosa shipped the waste -- along with 1,900 tonnes of soil it had contaminated in Cambodia -- back to Taiwan.
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
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