A group of academics yesterday rallied behind Tsuang Ben-jei (莊秉潔), a professor against whom Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) filed a lawsuit over his research, which the company said had injured its reputation.
Tsuang, a faculty member of National Chung Hsing University’s (NCHU) department of environmental engineering, is a target of FPG’s ire for remarks he made last year during a meeting of the Environmental Protection Administration’s (EPA) environmental impact assessment committee in which he reported that hazardous heavy metals and carcinogenic substances contained in the exhaust gas emitted by the company’s sixth naphtha cracker plant in Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮) resulted in a higher cancer occurrence rate for nearby residents.
FPG filed a civil suit alleging the sullying of its reputation with a compensation claim of NT$40 million (US$1.3 million) as well as a criminal suit alleging aggravated defamation and demanded that Tsuang place a public notice of apology in newspapers.
Photo: Chen Ping-hung, Taipei Times
At a press conference yesterday, Chou Kuei-tien (周桂田), a professor at National Taiwan University’s Graduate Institute of National Development and host of the conference, said that by Saturday night, 485 academics, including former Academia Sinica president Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), had signed a petition in support of Tsuang.
The petition states their support for Tsuang and his freedom to speak, reprimands FPG for “arbitrarily oppressing academic freedom” and urges the company to withdraw the lawsuit.
The academics said fear from FPG’s actions would have a chilling effect, resulting in a regression of academic freedoms within a democratic society.
Tsuang had the academic conscience to stand out and expose the health effects caused by the sixth naphtha cracker’s exhaust and so the issue should be discussed further and debated, Chou Chang-hung (周昌弘) of Academia Sinica said.
“From the perspective of the nobility of academic freedom, we will not allow our space for academic debate to become the defendant. I feel sad and mortified [about the case],” Chou said. “If academics are afraid to stand out to tell the truth to the public, then we should feel a sense of guilt for not paying our social responsibilities.”
Academic freedom is recognized as a basic human right worldwide and the right to bring forth unwelcome viewpoints should be protected from being threatened or interfered with, said NCHU secretary-general Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲), who participated in the press conference on behalf of the university.
Hsu Wei-chun (徐偉群), an assistant professor at Chung Yuan Christian University and convener of the Association of Taiwan Democracy, urged prosecutors not to initiate legal proceedings against Tsuang and for the judiciary to adhere to freedom of speech as protected by the Constitution.
The first trial session of the case is scheduled for Thursday.
Meanwhile, FPG lawyer Wu Yu-hsueh (吳雨學) said the corporation respected academic freedom, but Tsuang’s research cited false data, which had damaged its reputation and caused panic among residents in the area.
Wu said the data was simulated and did not represent the actual emissions volume of the plant, which placed Tsuang’s actions outside the scope of protection of the freedom of speech.
FPG had asked Tsuang to provide the sources of his data and asked for greater clarification of the report, but Tsuang had not responded, Wu said.
In the report, Tsuang cited the EPA as a source of his data, but when the corporation contacted the agency, it denied ever providing such data to Tsuang, Wu said.
Asked if the corporation would drop the lawsuit, Wu said the case has entered the legal system, but there was room for reconciliation if Tsuang wishes to settle out of court.
It depends on whether Tsuang was willing to apologize or find a way to restore FPG’s reputation, Wu said.
If FPG wins the lawsuit, it would donate the NT$40 million in damages to charity, Wu said.
Additional reporting by CNA
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS