Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) will weigh in on a disagreement between the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) and Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) regarding a decision that could lead to Formosa Petrochemical Corp’s (台塑石化) withdrawal from an investment project.
Executive Yuan spokesperson Hu Yu-wei (胡幼偉) yesterday said that Chen was aware of the impact the EPA’s decision will have on the investment climate and will look carefully into the case.
Members of the EPA’s environmental impact assessment committee on Thursday voted 9 to 6 to reject the appeal filed by the corporation against an earlier decision it made on Aug. 3 that volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions generated from flares, water cooling tanks, and while painting, cleaning and performing annual maintenance on water storage tanks, are sources of pollutants subject to the VOC limit.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) on Friday quoted Formosa Petrochemical chairman Chen Bao-lang (陳寶郎) as saying that the decision could cause the company to abandon the project to build a hydrogenated styrenic block copolymer (HSBC) plant, which would cost NT$6.2 billion (US$211.46 million) and be jointly funded by the US-based Kraton Polymers.
Chen Bao-lang was quoted as saying that he regretted the decision, but would respect it.
The project is known as the fourth-phase expansion of Formosa Plastics’naphtha cracker in Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮), where many are worried about air quality being worsened by the petrochemical plant and the impact it has on residents’ health.
Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) issued a press release on Friday saying that he was extremely worried about the consequences the EPA’s policy might have and urged the agency and members of environmental impact assessment committee to seriously consider how their decision would affect investors’ willingness to invest in Taiwan.
In response to Shih’s remarks, EPA Minister Stephen Shen (沈世宏) suggested that the EPA be stripped of its veto power over investment projects and that environmental impact assessments of construction projects be conducted by any regulatory agency whichever grants development permits, in this case the MOEA.
Hu yesterday said the Cabinet will have interagency meeting to discuss the issue when necessary.
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
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 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,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
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