The Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) yesterday rejected an appeal by a group of local academics to hold a public debate on a plan to build a giant petrochemical complex in a wetlands area in central Taiwan.
The bureau, which falls under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, said that as the project was initiated by Kuokuang Petrochemical Technology Co (KPTC), the academics should debate the issue with the company rather than with the bureau.
“The IDB would have been more than willing to provide details of the government’s policy on the development of the petrochemical industry, if the academics had asked for that,” IDB Director-General Woody Duh (杜紫軍) said.
He said the government supports the project because it was expected to contribute to the development of the local petrochemical industry, which has played an important role in the growth of Taiwan’s economy over the past decades.
However, 1,259 local university professors and academics have opposed the project and on Aug. 3 released a joint petition stating their objections.
Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲), a professor at National Chung Hsing University’s Department of Applied Economics and a spokesmen for the anti-Kuokuang campaign, said yesterday the government had so far not offered a policy response to the petition.
Chen said, the IDB instead ran advertisements in local newspapers for two days this month warning that people’s daily lives could be adversely affected if the petrochemical industry were to be scrapped.
Chen stressed that his group was not targeting the entire petrochemical industry.
“A public debate on the advantages and disadvantages is necessary because the Kuokuang project, if implemented, may gravely affect the lives of the people in the area and the survival of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins and other marine species in the waters off Taiwan’s western coast,” Chen said.
With the project’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) entering a decisive stage, Chen urged the government to uphold the principle of administrative neutrality and refrain from abusing its administrative power by interfering with the EIA.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
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About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
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