Print

Mail

wiki links

Referendums on incinerators becoming a burning issue

An advisory referendum held last month by the residents of Pinglin township in Taipei County resulted in the resignation of Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) as administrator of the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA).

But more importantly, it has sparked a controversy about the clash between public sentiment and professional opinions when it comes to development projects such as the highway exit that the Pinglin residents voted on.

The political repercussions of the ground-shaking referendum has obviously inspired residents in other areas to express their opinions in a new way, instead of resorting to the common method of public demonstrations.

In the wake of the storm caused by Pinglin, the small township of Chichi, in mountainous Nantou County, also held a referendum. Unlike residents in Pinglin -- who actually wanted a development project in their backyard -- most Chichi residents are reluctant to see the establishment of a new waste incinerator in theirs. In fact, on Oct. 4, the results of an advisory referendum showed that 98 percent of those who voted oppose the NT$4 billion project.

As in Pinglin's case, the result will not change the government's plans. Both Nantou County Commissioner Lin Tsung-nan (林宗男) and the EPA have expressed their firm commitment to proceed with the incinerator project.

But the Chichi project is not the only incinerator to have inflamed the public's passions, as opposition to such projects has spread from one end of the country to the other.

In the southern city of Kaohsiung, a medical waste incinerator undergoing a trial run sparked strong local opposition last month. Residents of the city's Hsiaokang District demanded a referendum to decide the future of the facility built by a company under contract with the city government.

Their request immediately met resistance from a hesitant Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) who said he worried about the legal implications of such a referendum.

Hsieh, a former lawyer, said last week that he preferred establishing a committee to monitoring the facility's operation.

But, under pressure from the residents, Hsieh has now said that he will ask the Ministry of the Interior to decide if the issue was a local one which can be decided by the municipality.

In northern Taiwan, Hsinchu County Councilor Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) led dozens of anti-incinerator residents on Wednesday to protest against the local government, saying that building an incinerator in the town Chupei would be a waste because there was already an incinerator sitting only 3km away in Hsinchu City.

Demonstrators said that in a referendum held last year in Chupei, and 40 percent of residents turned out to vote on the project. The results showed that 97 percent of voters are against it.

Responding to opponents, Hsinchu County's Bureau of Environmental Protection Director Wu Jian-ci (巫健次) said it was hard to taking adjacent jurisdictions -- such as Hsinchu City -- into account when dealing with waste management.

"Besides, the incinerator project has been fully supported by the EPA since the very beginning," Wu said.

Hsieh Herlin (謝和霖) is a spokesperson for the Taiwan Watch Institute, a leading environmental group opposed to the practice of incinerating garbage.

Hsieh Herlin said that since the referendum in Pinglin, people are keen to establish a legal basis for referendums to challenge questionable policies.

The rising NIMBY (not-in-my-back-yard) syndrome is all the more reason for a referendum to be held early next year on the future of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, Hsieh Herlin said.

Furthermore, referendums with a solid legal basis might offer good solutions to all controversial projects that affect the environment.

"If future the referendum law will entitle residents to decide certain public issues at different levels, violent opposition to projects will become unnecessary," Hsieh Herlin said.

Currently, the various political parties are wrestling in the Legislative Yuan for the establishment of the nation's first referendum law.

Meanwhile, under the pressure from various action groups, the EPA is reviewing incinerator projects in the counties of Nantou, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Hualien and Penghu.

This story has been viewed 1921 times.