Environmentalists and people living close to mining areas operated by Asia Cement Corp yesterday staged a flash mob event in front of the Far Eastern Plaza in Taipei to protest the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ “stealthy” extension of the corporation’s mining rights.
The extension would allow the company to continue marring the ecology and extend the ordeal Truku Aborigines face until 2037, protesters said.
The sound of explosions were played over loudspeakers, while smoke canisters were deployed to mimic a mining operation.
Photo: Yang Mien-chieh, Taipei Times
Police were at the scene to maintain order.
Asia Cement is a subsidiary of Far Eastern Group, which runs the Far Eastern Plaza.
“Taiwan is a democracy, but the Mining Act (礦業法) makes the nation look like a colony,” Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan member Pan Cheng-cheng (潘正正) said.
Environmentalists have sought for the act to be amended and have gained the backing of legislators across party lines, Pan said, adding that Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬), who chairs the legislature’s Economic Committee, this month said that the act is to be reviewed during this legislative session.
However, the ministry on the same day that Gao made the announcement extended Asia Cement’s mining rights in Hualien County’s Sincheng Township (新城) for 20 years, allowing the company to bypass an environmental impact assessment, she said.
Pan accused the ministry of safeguarding the company’s interests ahead of the proposed amendment.
The company has operated at the site for 60 years, despite it being a geologically sensitive zone that is prone to landslides, Pan said.
Cheng Wen-chuan (鄭文泉), a Truku whose home is near the mining site, said that vibrations from mining activity has caused his walls to crack and he has had to put up with thick dust.
Brandishing the deed to his property and a farming permit, Cheng said he had been unable to grow crops because his land had been cordoned off by Asia Cement workers.
Cheng urged the ministry to revoke its decision, saying he is disappointed at the swift approval of the company’s request for extended mining rights.
Article 21 of the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law (原住民基本法) stipulates that the government should consult Aborigines and gain their consent before carrying out developments in Aboriginal territory, but the ministry’s decision shows that it “treats the act like trash,” Cheng said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in August last year after meeting with Tien Chun-chou (田春綢), who lives on land used by Asia Cement, instructed the Council of Indigenous Peoples to enforce the act when dealing with the firm’s application for an extension of its mining rights, Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association lawyer Hsieh Meng-yu (謝孟羽) said.
However, ministers without portfolio Lin Wan-yi (林萬億) and Chang Ching-sen (張景森) disobeyed Tsai’s order following negotiations, allowing the ministry to grant the company the extension, Hsieh said.
He urged people to call the Executive Yuan and the legislature to press agencies to abolish the “illegal” permission given to Asia Cement to continue mining.
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
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
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,
RSS