Environmental groups yesterday demonstrated in front of the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), saying the EPA sides with enterprises at the cost of the environment.
"We refuse to let business interests rule our government agencies!" the activists chanted.
Last Wednesday, Formosa Plastics Group's (FPG, 台塑集團) steel plant proposal in Yunlin County (雲林) underwent an environmental impact assessment (EIA), Green Party Taiwan (GPT) Secretary-General Pan Han-shen (潘翰聲) said. The meeting with FPG was requested to present data from environmental impact investigations and adjustments from a previous assessment, Pan said.
PHOTO: CNA
Yesterday the EPA representatives of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (TEPU), GPT and Taiwan Academy of Ecology said that from the EPA's track record, they feared the administration would based on FPG and pass the first assessment despite the fact that, "FPG is currently responsible for a quarter of Taiwan's greenhouse gas emissions."
"With the steel plant in operation, that figure would soar to a third, with an additional 15,000 tonnes of emissions annually," Pan said.
"At this rate, they would be emitting more emissions than all the homes, businesses and transportation around the nation combined," he added.
Former EPA environmental impact committee member Robin Winkler, who was also at the press conference, said that Yunlin County Council Speaker Su Chin-huang (
"As a foreigner who has done so much for Taiwan's environmental protection, I feel defeated that the government would condone violence against environmentalists," he said while showing his bruises from the alleged assault.
"Our demonstration is a result of being pushed over our threshold," TEPU Secretary-General Ho Tsung-hsun (何宗勳) said, citing incidents in the past year when environmentalists were arrested during demonstrations, prosecuted for protesting, and [Winkler] being physically assaulted.
"We can no longer tolerate this kind of treatment," he said.
"We are going to have a large-scale anti-global warming demonstration on Dec. 8," Pan said, adding that "we are determined to make the government hear our voices."
In response to the allegations, EPA Minister Winston Dang (
"We follow the same EIA regulations for any construction proposal," he said. "We respect environmentalists and invite them to speak at EIAs."
With regards to the alleged assault, Dang said that the case is now under investigation and that he would not comment because he wasn't present at the incident.
"We have done our best to respond; the EPA's limited police force did make efforts to pacify the conflicting parties at the time," he added.
A domestically developed “suicide drone,” also known as a loitering munition, would be tested and evaluated in July, and could enter mass production next year, Taiwan’s weapons developer said on Wednesday. The yet-to-be-named drone was among nine drone models unveiled by the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) on Tuesday. The drone has been dubbed the “Taiwanese switchblade” by Chinese-language media, due to its similarity to the US-made AeroVironment Switchblade 300, which has been used by Ukraine in counterattacks during Russia’s invasion. It has a range of more than 10km, a flight time of more than 15 minutes, and an electro-optical
OFFLINE: People who do not wish to register can get the money from select ATMs using their bank card, ID number and National Health Insurance card number Online registration for NT$6,000 (US$196.32) cash payments drawn from last year’s tax surplus is to open today for eligible people whose national ID or permanent residency number ends in either a zero or a one, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. Officials from the ministry revealed which days Taiwanese and eligible foreigners would be able to register for the cash payments at a joint news conference with the Ministry of Digital Affairs. Online registration is to open tomorrow for those whose number ends in a two or three; on Friday for those that end in a four or five: on Saturday
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials are investigating why a Starlux Airlines flight to Penang, Malaysia, returned to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport nearly two hours after takeoff yesterday morning. The airline said in a statement that Flight JX721 to Penang took off from Taoyuan airport at 9:20am. “After the dashboard showed a signal of an abnormality in the hydraulic system, the captain followed standard operating procedures and returned the flight to Taoyuan airport for safety precautions,” the airline said, adding that the flight landed safely at the airport at 11:04am. The airline arranged for the passengers to have lunch after the flight landed and
TECH PROGRAM: A US official said that an important part of the delegation’s trip would be to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co executives The US is to send officials in charge of chip development to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea to promote cooperation in the global semiconductor supply chain, the US Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. Chips Program Office Director Michael Schmidt announced the visit, which marks the first time officials from the office are to visit the three nations since it was set up in September last year. “As semiconductors and technologies continue to evolve, the United States will keep working with allies and partners to develop coordinated strategies to ensure that malign actors cannot use the latest technologies to undermine our collective
RSS