Recently, the "good neighbor" budgets of the Chinese Petroleum Corp (
Since Chinese Petroleum Corp and Taipower have enormous "good neighbor" budgets, they are looked upon by communities as fat lambs ready for slaughter. Politicians are rather enthusiastic about this method of compensation because it enables them to garner votes. Some legislators even make use of their right to review budgets to privately demand subsidies from state-owned polluters.
The original intent of the compensation budgets was admirable. They were meant to compensate those residents living near public facilities that generate pollution. Since the establishment and operation of such plants could have a negative impact on the quality of life, the value of property, health or the environment, the hope was to create friendly relations between residents and factories.
Due to Taiwan's limited area and high population density, it is more likely than not that public facilities will be located near residential areas, and inevitably such facilities will threaten people's livelihoods. Taking into account the common sentiment against having public facilities "in one's backyard," the government has undertaken to compensate communities with the expedient measure of buying the right to use the environment. There seems to be no other alternative.
If we can agree on the legitimacy of providing compensation to areas neighboring pollution sources, then the problem that should concern us is how these funds can be used to benefit the underprivileged communities that bear the risk of environmental pollution? How can the entire community be looked after without letting particular groups, individuals or politicians create a hotbed of private interests?
The most urgent task is for the Commission of National Corporations (國營會) to integrate each state-run enterprise's methods for handling "good neighbor" funds. In the near future, it should present to the legislature a draft bill to systematize the disbursement of environmental-impact compensation to ensure that funds are used legally. The draft of that bill must adhere to the following two principles.
One, the funds should be used to subsidize construction of public works projects and the ultimate goal should be to create a "mini Singapore." In the past, the public has applied for support for a wide variety of activities -- including temple association events, club activities, payouts on festival days, money to sponsor competitions and so on -- under the name of environmental impact compensation. Many of these causes violate the spirit of compensating communities.
In the future, the use of such funds should be restricted to repairing bridges, fixing roads, building libraries and hospitals and other public works. The risk of pollution born by the communities should be compensated by working toward the goal of constructing a "mini Singapore."
Two, distribution of funds must take risk and proximity into account. It can't be done haphazardly. Manufacturers could invite academic organizations to confirm the level of risk and degree of proximity to pollution faced by the public. Those closer to sources of pollution and at higher risk from pollution should receive more compensation.
To solve the various problems that derive from public-relations funds, the most basic approach is for the government to handle relations with communities and the public. When the engineers at the Chinese Petroleum or Taipower are faced with irrational demands for compensation, the government must act quickly. It shouldn't look the other way when such compensation includes cash for special interests and political benefits for unscrupulous politicians. Those are signs of political decadence in Taiwan and we ought to be on guard against them.
Chiou Chang-tay is director of the Research Center for Public Opinion and Election Studies, National Taipei University.
Translated by Ethan Harkness
When US budget carrier Southwest Airlines last week announced a new partnership with China Airlines, Southwest’s social media were filled with comments from travelers excited by the new opportunity to visit China. Of course, China Airlines is not based in China, but in Taiwan, and the new partnership connects Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport with 30 cities across the US. At a time when China is increasing efforts on all fronts to falsely label Taiwan as “China” in all arenas, Taiwan does itself no favors by having its flagship carrier named China Airlines. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is eager to jump at
The muting of the line “I’m from Taiwan” (我台灣來欸), sung in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), during a performance at the closing ceremony of the World Masters Games in New Taipei City on May 31 has sparked a public outcry. The lyric from the well-known song All Eyes on Me (世界都看見) — originally written and performed by Taiwanese hip-hop group Nine One One (玖壹壹) — was muted twice, while the subtitles on the screen showed an alternate line, “we come here together” (阮作伙來欸), which was not sung. The song, performed at the ceremony by a cheerleading group, was the theme
Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised eyebrows recently when he declared the era of American unipolarity over. He described America’s unrivaled dominance of the international system as an anomaly that was created by the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War. Now, he observed, the United States was returning to a more multipolar world where there are great powers in different parts of the planet. He pointed to China and Russia, as well as “rogue states like Iran and North Korea” as examples of countries the United States must contend with. This all begs the question:
In China, competition is fierce, and in many cases suppliers do not get paid on time. Rather than improving, the situation appears to be deteriorating. BYD Co, the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer by production volume, has gained notoriety for its harsh treatment of suppliers, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability. The case also highlights the decline of China’s business environment, and the growing risk of a cascading wave of corporate failures. BYD generally does not follow China’s Negotiable Instruments Law when settling payments with suppliers. Instead the company has created its own proprietary supply chain finance system called the “D-chain,” through which
RSS