Encroaching haze pollution and trash floating in the ocean that arrives in Taiwan from China are getting worse and worse. More importance is therefore gradually being given to the signing of a cross-strait environmental protection cooperation agreement with China. The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) on Wednesday last week reported to the Legislative Yuan on international cooperation issues. It is anticipated that the agreement would include ways to solve these problems, including taking air pollution samples to appraise haze pollution originating from China, and using collection fees to solve the problem of trash drifting in the ocean. The EPA report also said that as far back as 2007 it started commissioning academics to study the origins of PM2.5 — particles under 2.5 micrometers in diameter — in Taiwan, and found that around 27 percent arrived from China.
Furthermore, the coastlines of outlying islands close to the estuaries of China’s Jiulong and Min rivers, including Kinmen and Matsu, have for many years incurred the intrusion of floating trash coming from these rivers — approximately 400 tons every month. EPA Minister Wei Kuo-yen says that the local government is in charge of taking care of everything at present, adding that receiving collection fees from China in the future could be considered. Relevant suggestions will be included in the negotiations for the cross-strait environmental protection agreement, Wei says.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
Photo: Wu Cheng-ting, Taipei Times
照片：自由時報記者吳正庭
鑑於中國霾害、海漂垃圾對台灣的侵害越來越嚴重，兩岸環境保護合作協議的簽署也逐漸受到重視，環保署上週三赴立法院報告相關國際接軌議題，未來盼能在協議內納入相關解決方案，如至中國霾害來源進行空氣污染取樣鑑定、以代收費用方式解決海漂垃圾等問題。環保署報告指出，早自二００七年已委託學者研究，台灣細懸浮微粒（PM2.5）污染來源，約有百分之二十七點四受中國影響。
此外，金門、馬祖等離島因鄰近中國九龍江、閩江口，海岸線多年遭受順河而來的海漂垃圾侵襲，每個月約四百公噸。環保署長魏國彥表示，目前由地方政府處理，但可考量以代處理方式向中國收費，會把相關意見納入未來兩岸環保協議中進行談判。
（自由時報記者吳柏軒）
Photo: Reuters
照片：路透
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