The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has criticized President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) announcement on Friday that he opposes construction of the proposed Kuokuang Petrochemical Technology Co (KPTC, 國光石化) naphtha cracker complex in central Taiwan as a decision made out of “election considerations.”
The policy change will “hurt Taiwan’s 2012 presidential election,” DPP legislative whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said.
He did not elaborate.
In response to mounting opposition to the planned complex, Ma told a press conference on Friday afternoon that he “will not support going ahead with constructing the complex in the central county of Changhua.”
However, Ma fell short of saying how the government would safeguard the domestic petrochemical industry without the Changhua complex.
“President Ma should state clearly whether there is a replacement planned for the NT$600 billion [US$20.8 billion] Changhua project,” Ker said.
DPP Legislator Pan Men-an (潘孟安) also challenged Ma, who yesterday registered as the sole candidate seeking the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) nomination for next year’s presidential election, to name an alternative location for the complex if it is not to be built in Changhua.
DPP presidential hopeful Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said she hoped Ma’s decision was not political motivated.
Saying the current petrochemical complexes in Taiwan are enough to supply the needs of the mid-stream and downstream sectors, Tsai said that if KPTC wishes to better compete in the global market, it would be better to build its complex closer to oil-producing regions.
Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), another DPP presidential hopeful, said Taiwan needed a homeland development policy.
“In the past, we only cared about the development of industries, but now we should review our industry and environment policies,” he said.
KMT Legislator Cheng Ju-fen (鄭汝芬), who represents the Chang-hua constituency, said that she and many local residents were very disappointed at the government’s decision to scrap the Changhua plant.
Wu Ming-yu (吳明玉), chief of Dacheng Township (大城), where the plant was originally to have been located, said his township and nearby areas were counting on the new project as a boost to the local economy and that Ma’s decision was “unacceptable.”
Wang Chi-hui (王棋會), chief of Gungguan Village (公館) in the township, said that in making his decision, Ma had listened to just “the voices of the few environmentalists and has ignored the fact that a far greater number of people at the grassroots level want the complex and the resulting improved economy.”
Meanwhile, at a separate setting yesterday, former Academia Sinica president Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) said that from a global perspective, the KPTC project should not be developed in Taiwan or abroad.
Taiwan and people worldwide should not build bigger and newer petrochemical plants, but instead focus on developing renewable resources, he said, adding that a simplification of all aspects of life and the creation of a more “carbon efficient” societal structure would also help reduce carbon emissions.
Lee said the constant replacement of cellphones and computers is wasteful and is simply a means for corporations to make money, and that changing our habits would see our consumption of natural resources reduced.
Lee called on the government to map out long-term policies concerning corporations and energy and to not just act passively.
Chou Chang-hung (周昌弘), an Academia Sinica specialist in plant ecology and phytochemical ecology who began a petition against the KPTC project, described Ma’s latest directives concerning the project as stalling methods.
“If the project is only halted in Changhua and if it is then going to be built somewhere else [in Taiwan,] I’m going to fight against it all the way,” Chou said.
However, Chou said he is in favor of relocating the project abroad, as long as it is built where there are few people close by and it minimizes its environmental impact.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RICH CHANG
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
President William Lai (賴清德) today condemned an alleged attempt by two Chinese to snatch a letter of congratulations handed to Taiwan’s taekwondo team after they won silver at the Summer World University Games in Essen, Germany, yesterday. A Chinese man and woman reportedly tried to snatch a congratulatory letter to athletes Hung Jiun-yi (洪俊義), Jung Jiun-jie (鍾俊傑) and Huang Cho-cheng (黃卓乘) from the Ministry of Education, and then argued with media employees. “Why are you taking our things?” the media employees asked. “Does that say Chinese Taipei?” the two Chinese reportedly said. Following the incident, Sports Administration Director-General Cheng Shih-chung (鄭世忠) wrote on