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
SELF-RELIANCE: Taiwan would struggle to receive aid in the event of an invasion, so it must prepare to ‘hold its own’ for the first 70 days of a war, a defense expert said Taiwan should strengthen infrastructure, stock up on reserves and step up efforts to encourage Taiwanese to fight against an enemy, legislators and experts said on Tuesday last week. The comments sought to summarize what the nation should learn from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has exceeded 300 days, since Feb. 24 last year. Institute of National Defense and Security Research fellow Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) said that the war in Ukraine highlighted the importance of being ready for war. Taiwan’s development of an “asymmetrical warfare” doctrine and extending mandatory conscription to one year is a good start to preparation of defense against a
The Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday said it would delay the lifting of the indoor mask mandate, citing public health considerations and ongoing discussions on how the policy should be implemented. Earlier this week, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman, said officials from several ministries were working on the policy and an announcement would be made yesterday. However, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝), who heads the CECC, yesterday said that the policy was still under review. Wang said its implementation would be “delayed slightly” due to three main factors. First, the center
END OF SERIES: As the first generation of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines are set to expire, the CECC would no longer offer them to children younger than four years old The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported the nation’s first case of a person infected with the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant of SARS-CoV-2. The Taiwanese man in his 20s arrived from Canada on Jan. 22, said Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), who is deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division. He tested positive after reporting having a runny nose and muscle soreness while in airport quarantine, Lo said. The XBB.1.5 subvariant is the dominant strain in the US, but there is no evidence to suggest that it causes more severe illness than other Omicron subvariants, he said,
NORMALIZING TIES: The delegation led by the KMT’s Johnny Chiang is to meet with British lawmakers, think tanks and business groups to discuss developments A legislative delegation led by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) arrived in the UK yesterday to rally support for Taiwan’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Chiang heads the Legislative Yuan’s Taiwan-UK Interparliamentary Amity Association. The delegation also includes KMT legislators Ma Wen-chun (馬文君), Wen Yu-hsia (溫玉霞), Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷), Sandy Yu (游毓蘭) and Wu I-ding (吳怡玎). The group is to meet with British lawmakers Alicia Kearns, who chairs the British House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee; Tobias Ellwood, who chairs the House Defence Select Committee; and Bob Stewart, who cochairs the