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.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
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