Kuokuang Petrochemical Technology Co, which last week was forced to scrap its plan to build a naphtha cracking plant in -Changhua County, yesterday criticized the government’s policy on the petrochemical industry as being inconsistent and unpredictable.
Kuokuang chairman Chen Bao-lang (陳寶郎) said the government lacked an integrated development plan, which had resulted in frequent policy shifts.
“Why wasn’t the government aware that there were valuable wetlands in Changhua?” he asked on the sidelines of a board meeting. “If it was aware, why didn’t it tell us at the very beginning of the project?”
Chen was referring to his company’s plan to build a petrochemical complex in a wetlands area. The project had been under heavy fire for months from environmental and other groups, prior to a decision by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) on whether it should be allowed to proceed.
President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) open opposition to the project was seen as a major factor in the EPA committee’s recommendation that the project either be rejected or conditionally approved.
Chen said environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedures need to be overhauled so that controversial projects can be reviewed more thoroughly and political responsibility can be more clearly defined.
“You can’t expect experts and academics to be responsible for an investment project of this scale,” Chen said. “It’s not fair to them and it’s not fair to us.”
Chen also criticized the policy of leaving it to investors to collect and analyze the environmental and economic data required to obtain approval for investment projects.
This means that a new review has to be conducted each time a company becomes interested in making an investment — a procedure that is both exhausting and unproductive, Chen said.
“The government should use its authority to establish a public database so, whether a project has been approved or not, the related data is available for future reference,” he said.
At the board meeting yesterday, six board members from major investors, including CPC Corp, Taiwan, and Far Eastern Group, formalized the withdrawal of the plan as proposed by CPC last week.
Expressing regret on behalf of the firm’s shareholders, Chen said the company would not be disbanded.
“We have agreed to keep looking for other investment opportunities, both domestically and internationally,” Chen said.
Specifically, the company will be eyeing investment opportunities for higher-value petrochemical production in Taiwan that fits the country’s industrial policy.
Meanwhile, the company will remain committed to producing petrochemicals by searching for possible sites for naphtha cracking plants in other countries.
Despite recent speculation that Kuokuang might move the project to Malaysia or Indonesia, Chen said investors have not yet pinpointed any overseas location.
In addition, he said the company would not need to solicit extra capital, “at least for a while.”
Although several stakeholders raised the issue of compensation at the meeting, Chen quelled speculation that the company might sue the government for delaying, then canceling, the proposed Changhua plant.
“Of course, we investors have been treated unfairly considering the amount of time and money we have put into the project, but considering our chances of winning a lawsuit, we have decided to give up altogether,” Chen said.
At a separate setting yesterday, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) denied that Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) would be replaced to take responsibility for the controversy surrounding the Kuokuang project.
“Minister Shih has been faithful to his duty. Furthermore, if someone has to take the blame, it should be the [previous] Democratic Progressive Party government, which strongly pushed the project since 1995,” Wu said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHIH HSIU-CHUAN
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan