An environmental group yesterday called on Asia Cement Corp to negotiate with Truku people living near its quarry in Hualien County’s Sinchengshan (新城山) as required by a recent court ruling, rather than posting advertisements to spread rumors.
The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday last week asked the Ministry of Economic Affairs to revoke its approval of the firm’s permit renewal for the mine, after four Truku people filed a lawsuit against the ministry in 2017.
The firm failed to obtain the consent of the Truku before having its mining permit extended for another 20 years, as required by Article 21 of the Indigenous Peoples Basic Act (原住民族基本法), the court said.
Civic groups hailed the ruling as a landmark victory for upholding transitional justice of Aborigines, while Asia Cement said it would appeal.
The firm’s corporate union based in Hualien yesterday took out large advertisements in several Chinese-language newspapers protesting the ruling and posted them on the company Web site.
The firm applied for the permit extension in line with the Mining Act (礦業法) and the conclusion reached in an Executive Yuan meeting on Nov. 7, 2016, the union said.
The court’s decision might “seriously affect” industrial operations, labor rights as well as the government’s credibility for boosting the economy, it said.
Always attending to the safety and rights of Aborigines, the firm would continue communicating with Aboriginal communities and offer them more jobs, feedback and development, it added.
Accusing the union of spreading rumors, Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan urged the company to stop menacing the government and the public, and sowing division among Truku with varied opinions.
If the firm really cares for local people, it should negotiate with them as required by the ruling, the group said, adding that no one has the right to choose which law to follow.
A legally operated business would never instigate its union to break the law under the pretext that they need jobs, it said.
The group also cited a Control Yuan report published on Oct. 13, 2017, which corrected the ministry’s failure to note the mine’s precarious environmental and cultural conditions, and the Executive Yuan’s dereliction of duties to act according to law.
The government should not squander more public funds and judiciary resources defending a single company, it said, while asking authorities to amend the outdated Mining Act to close potential loopholes.
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 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
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
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,
RSS