The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) demanded yesterday that Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park (新竹科學園區) carry out a survey and analysis of its impact on the environment by the end of November.
EPA officials said that the demand was necessary to ensure the protection of the environment. No environmental impact assessment (EIA) was conducted two decades ago when the park was established.
When the EIA Act went into effect on Dec. 30, 1994, environmentalists began to highlight damage done to the environment by industrial complexes established decades earlier. Activists described such industrial complexes as "fish which slipped through the net of the EIA Act."
This January officials and experts attending the National Economic Development Conference (全國經濟發展會議) agreed that new firms which propose to start operations in industrial complexes which have conducted EIAs and been approved, would not have to conduct new assessments.
EPA officials said, however, that the rule only applied to situations in which the new firms did not emit pollutants in excess of the pollution volume for which the complex was originally designed.
EPA officials said that the rule would facilitate the establishment of new firms in industrial complexes and environmental protection work and bring about more efficient use of land.
The rule suits many existing industrial complexes which have already carried out EIAs, including Yunlin (
EPA officials demanded yesterday that the first three phases of the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park conduct a survey and analysis of their impact on the environment and submit a list of measures for mitigating environmental damage for approval and subsequent implementation by the end of November.
EPA officials said that the report had to include details of pollution volumes that were acceptable. The EPA has often had to conduct remedial EIAs for certain firms, after it has been discovered that original EIAs were never submitted.
One famous case that involved United Microelectronics Corp (聯電, UMC), Taiwan's No. 2 chipmaker, caused a dispute between the Science-based Industrial Park Administration (竹科管理局) and Hsinchu City Government last year.
Environmentalists of the Hsinchu Environmental Protection Association (
"We've monitored the environment for years and found that the park has had a negative impact on the environment," Chung Shu-chi (
Chung, also one of the members of the Environmental Monitoring Team (環境監督小組) under the science park said that the team had found scientific evidence proving that air emitted and waste water discharged from the park had threatened local residents' health.
Lin Sheng-chung (
"We also want to suggest that the EPA demand that other industrial complexes, established decades ago, conduct similar surveys by certain deadlines," Lin said.
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
The High Court yesterday overturned a Taipei District Court decision to release Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and sent the case back to the lower court. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday questioned Ko amid a probe into alleged corruption involving the Core Pacific City development project during his time as Taipei mayor. Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心), was a shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) that has since been demolished. On Monday, the Taipei District Court granted a second motion by Ko’s attorney to release him without bail, a decision the prosecutors’ office appealed
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