Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) joined several environmental groups and campaigners yesterday in demanding that the Legislative Yuan review 12 draft amendments to the Mining Act (礦業法) during its second extraordinary session.
Calls for the act to be amended have been growing ever since the Ministry of Economic Affairs approved a 20-year extension to Asia Cement Corp’s quarry operations in Hualien County’s Sincheng Township (新城).
The company’s mining activities came under renewed fire after aerial footage shot by documentary filmmaker Chi Po-lin (齊柏林) before his death last month appeared to show the mine’s expansion.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
At a news conference in the legislature, Gao urged the legislature to arrange for the amendment to be reviewed, saying its agenda should be determined by its members, not the Executive Yuan.
While the DPP caucus is scheduled to decide today upon its agenda for the second extraordinary session, Gao said he would propose prioritizing the amendments.
The firm’s mining permit was set to expire on Nov. 22, but the Bureau of Mines approved its application for an extension on March 14.
If the amendments can be passed in this or the next extraordinary session, the company would be subject to the new act, which means it would need to obtain the approval of Aboriginal landowners before continuing its mining activities in Sincheng, DPP Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) said.
When the Executive Yuan published its draft amendment on Monday last week, it said a two-month notification period was needed to collect public opinion.
“Even without the Executive Yuan’s draft, the legislature can review another 12 drafts immediately,” Lin said, supporting Gao’s idea that the legislature should act on its own authority.
Pan Cheng-cheng (潘正正), a researcher for the environmental group Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan, said 57 of the 113 lawmakers supported reviewing the amendments in the second extraordinary session.
Although half of the DPP caucus members support the idea, the group’s agenda sill depends on caucus whip Ker Chien-ming’s (柯建銘), Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association secretary-general Hsieh Meng-yu (謝孟羽) said.
The New Power Party (NPP) and People First Party (PFP) supported an immediate review, while DPP and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucuses have not voiced an opinion.
NPP Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said the public appears to support amending the law, so lawmakers should work together across party lines.
“The illegal extension of Asia Cement’s mining permit should be revoked,” he said. “The Executive Yuan should not avoid dealing with the company’s case by trying to distract the public’s attention with its proposed amendment.”
PFP Legislator Chou Chen Hsiu-hsia (周陳秀霞) said the law should be changed to require companies to fully disclose their mining operations and establish civic participation procedures, adding that a national maximum for cement exports should also be stipulated.
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