The failure to list amendments to the Mining Act (礦業法) as a priority bill for discussion at the legislature today is a “disgrace,” New Power Party (NPP) Chairman Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said yesterday.
The amendments to the act, first proposed in May last year, have been left untouched, despite having passed a committee review, Hsu said, adding that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators do not attend meetings on the amendments and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has refused to allow them to progress procedurally.
Hsu claimed that legislators had been bribed by political donations from Far Eastern Group chairman Douglas Hsu (徐旭東), whose Asia Cement Corp mine in Hualien County’s Sioulin Township (秀林) caused controversy after its permit extension expanded the mining area, as revealed in aerial footage taken by late filmmaker Chi Po-lin (齊柏林).
Chi died in a helicopter crash in Hualien County on June 10, 2017, while filming a follow-up to his documentary Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above (看見台灣).
The level of corporate influence on the government is depressing, Hsu Yung-ming said, adding that the NPP would continue to push for a second reading of the amendments at every legislative meeting.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the delay had its origins in the amendments’ scattered focus.
There were too many proposed editions — 13 — and too many articles would be changed, Ker said.
The procedure itself had been time-consuming, with seven meetings held just to review the committee version, after which four meetings were held between the party caucuses, he said, adding that only the changes to 30 articles were discussed and had been agreed.
NPP and People First Party (PFP) representatives did not attend the last caucus gathering, Ker added.
In addition to the number of versions, there was no unified focus, as some amendments focused on environmental issues, while others were concerned with Aborigines’ land rights, he said.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ decision to grant Asia Cement a 20-year extension on its mining rights and subsequent litigation had further complicated matters, he added.
The NPP attempting to list the amendments first for discussion is “procedurally unsound,” Ker said, calling on legislators to do their duty and desist from pre-election political posturing.
KMT caucus whip William Tseng (曾銘宗) said that the DPP was primarily responsible for the delay, as it has the legislative majority.
Environmental sustainability and the mining rights of corporations are factors to consider, Tseng said, adding that a balance between the two must be achieved before further reviews could be conducted.
PFP caucus whip Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said that the party had listed the amendments as a priority bill, but the DPP controls the legislative agenda and it had not listed them.
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