The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday announced that the Tao community of Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) would receive NT$2.55 billion (US$83.6 million) in compensation after a government investigation found that they were unaware of plans to create the Lanyu nuclear waste disposal facility.
Ministry officials made the announcement at a news conference in Taitung attended by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
The investigation “discovered the truth” and the compensation fulfills part of the government’s Aboriginal transitional justice project, Tsai said.
Photo: CNA
Tsai in 2016 instructed Minister Without Portfolio Lin Wan-i (林萬億) to launch the investigation after receiving a complaint from Lanyu residents.
The probe found that the Tao community was not notified that the government was planning to establish the facility, the ministry said.
The compensation is to be disbursed under the Regulations on Development and Management of the Lands Reserved for Indigenous People (原住民保留地開發管理辦法), it said.
The funds would not be provided all at once, but rather in annual installments of NT$25 million, it added.
Lanyu Township Mayor Chiaman Chialamu said that residents were happy to hear the decision.
“Out of all the presidents who have visited Lanyu, only President Tsai listened,” Chiaman said.
However, he said that while the compensation is welcome, the nuclear waste must be removed from the island.
The township would select a board to oversee a foundation governing the funds, Chiaman said, adding that their use would require majority approval by residents.
Separately yesterday, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said that “today’s compensation has historic meaning for both the Executive Yuan and Lanyu.”
It is the first step toward finding historical truth and compensating Lanyu residents, she said.
The Executive Yuan yesterday exhibited declassified documents showing that in the 1970s, then-premiers Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) and Sun Yun-hsuan (孫運璿) approved plans to build the facility and store nuclear waste on Lanyu without residents’ consent.
Additional reporting by Huang Pei-chun
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
RSS