The Supreme Court yesterday ruled that China Petrochemical Development Corp (CPDC, 中石化) must pay NT$180 million (US$5.82 million) in compensation to the approximately 400 victims of dioxin contamination around its Anshun (安順) plant in Tainan.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs would not have to pay, the ruling added.
Lin Hsuan-chi (林媗琪), representative of the victims’ legal team, said the team approved of the court’s decision to reject the majority of the company’s appeals.
Photo copied by Chiu Hao-tang, Taipei Times
However, they regret the decision to overrule a previous ruling requiring the ministry to pay compensation, as it should also be held liable, she said.
In the first trial, the court had ruled that the ministry should pay compensation, but in the second and third trials, it reversed the ruling, she said.
It is not a matter of money, but of remorse, she said, adding that they have been waiting for an apology for more than 10 years.
Lin said that while she regrets the court’s decision to remand the part of the case involving medical fees to the Taiwan High Court’s Tainan branch, she commends its decision to lessen the victims’ burden of proving causation, as well as its citation of the right of survival in Article 15 of the Constitution as reason to protect the residents’ rights and interests.
This was a significant breakthrough and could be applied to other cases, she said, adding that the lawsuit has more or less finished.
Lin said she hopes that CPDC would continue to take responsibility for remediating the incident, that other businesses would protect the land and that this would be the nation’s last public nuisance suit.
If CPDC does not make the payments of its own initiative, the legal team would take action, she added.
Premier William Lai (賴清德) on Facebook yesterday called the ruling “belated justice” and urged CPDC to swiftly reach settlements with affected residents and their families.
More than 300 residents in 2008 lodged a suit against CPDC.
Sixty-three of the plaintiffs have passed away since the suit was initiated, Lai said.
Additional reporting by Sean Lin
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
The Executive Yuan yesterday warned against traveling to or doing business in China after reports that Beijing is recruiting Taiwanese to help conceal the use of forced Uighur labor. The government is aware that Taiwan-based influencers and businesses are being asked to make pro-Beijing content and offered incentives to invest in the region, Executive Yuan acting spokeswoman Julia Hsieh (謝子涵) told a news conference. Taiwanese are urged to be aware of the potential personal and reputational harm by visiting or operating businesses in China, Hsieh said, adding that agencies are fully apprised of the situation. A national security official said that former Mainland
RSS