Amendments to the Water Pollution Control Act (水污染防治法) and the institution of the Act for Healthcare Services for the Yucheng Victims (油症患者健康照護服務條例) were approved by the legislature on Thursday.
The proposal to amend the Water Pollution Control Act was prompted by criticism of the fine given to Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASE, 日月光半導體) after the corporation was found to have dumped massive amounts of wastewater into Kaohsiung’s Houjin River (後勁溪) last year.
The fine was said to be too low to deter companies from committing similar violations.
While existing regulations limit the punishment to a maximum of three years in prison and a fine of between NT$200,000 and NT$1 million (US$ 6,363 and US$31,815), the amended act would see those guilty of dumping wastewater judged potentially lethal to human life subject to life sentences and a possible fine of up to NT$30 million.
Those found to have dumped wastewater leading to serious illnesses and disabilities could face a prison sentence of between three and 10 years and a fine of up to NT$25 million, while those who have dumped wastewater leading to serious illness could be punished with a prison sentence of between one and seven years and a fine of up to NT$20 million.
If companies found dumping wastewater harmful to human health, agricultural and fishery production or the source of drinking water fail to take immediate responses or flout the competent authority’s order to halt operations, they are subject to up to three years in prison and a fine of between NT$200,000 and NT$5 million.
Under the amended act, whistle-blowers cannot be fired, demoted, subject to pay cuts or other punitive measures, and are to receive a proportion of any fine levied as reward for reporting illegal operations.
In related news, the Act for the Health Care Services for the Yucheng Victims was passed late on Thursday.
The victims of the disease are those who were poisoned by cooking oil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in 1979.
More than 2,000 were intoxicated and suffered “chlorance,” a skin condition consisting of cysts and rashes, lasting damage to organs and immune and neural systems, and birth defects in children.
The statutes have been established to prohibit discrimination against the victims, 1,776 of whom are currently registered with the government, and to protect their rights to education, employment and medical treatment.
People with spouses, children or grandchildren who died of their injuires before the passage of the bill are each entitled to a solatium of NT$200,000.
A small number of Taiwanese this year lost their citizenship rights after traveling in China and obtaining a one-time Chinese passport to cross the border into Russia, a source said today. The people signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of neighboring Russia with companies claiming they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, the source said on condition of anonymity. The travelers were actually issued one-time-use Chinese passports, they said. Taiwanese are prohibited from holding a Chinese passport or household registration. If found to have a Chinese ID, they may lose their resident status under Article 9-1
PROCEDURE: Although there is already a cross-strait agreement in place for the extradition of criminals, ample notice is meant to be given to the other side first Ten Taiwanese who were involved in fraud-related crimes in China were extradited back to Taiwan via Kinmen County on Wednesday, four of whom are convicted fraudsters in Taiwan. The 10 people arrived via a ferry operating between Xiamen and Kinmen, also known as the “small three links.” The Kinmen County Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said that four of the 10 extradited people were convicted in Taiwan for committing fraud and contravening the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法), and were on the wanted list. They were immediately arrested upon arrival and sent to Kinmen Prison to serve their sentences following brief questioning, the office said.
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PROBLEMATIC APP: Citing more than 1,000 fraud cases, the government is taking the app down for a year, but opposition voices are calling it censorship Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday decried a government plan to suspend access to Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu (小紅書) for one year as censorship, while the Presidential Office backed the plan. The Ministry of the Interior on Thursday cited security risks and accusations that the Instagram-like app, known as Rednote in English, had figured in more than 1,700 fraud cases since last year. The company, which has about 3 million users in Taiwan, has not yet responded to requests for comment. “Many people online are already asking ‘How to climb over the firewall to access Xiaohongshu,’” Cheng posted on
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