Protesters yesterday gathered in front of an Asia Cement Corp mine in Hualien County’s Sincheng Township (新城) to demand an end to the company’s quarry operations.
The Executive Yuan on Dec. 7 last year proposed an amendment to the Mining Act (礦業法) that would require quarries in Aboriginal territories to obtain the consent of Aboriginal communities.
However, the Sincheng quarry was exempted because the Bureau of Mines in March last year extended the company’s mining rights by 20 years.
Aborigines from the Taroko National Park area yesterday said the Executive Yuan’s approval of the amendment was illegal and demanded that their traditional land, which is occupied by the quarry, be returned to them.
Tien Ming-cheng (田明正), who was leading the protesters, said the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ approval of the amendment was in breach of Article 21 of the Indigenous Peoples Basic Act (原住民族基本法), which stipulates that development on Aboriginal land must be approved by the communities that would be affected.
The ministry overlooked the safety of the people and property of those living near the mine, he said.
“Taroko Gorge is not Douglas Hsu’s (徐旭東) private fish pond. It is the traditional land of Taroko Aborigines,” he said.
Hsu is the chairman of Asia Cement’s parent company, Far Eastern Group.
New Power Party Legislator Kawlo Iyun Pacidal said Article 21 requires at least half of the Aborigines who would be affected by land-related decisions to be in agreement before the decisions can be acted upon.
Applications must be discussed in a meeting of the Council of Indigenous Peoples, she said, adding that she plans to inspect the processes by which the extension was granted.
She said she would demand compensation for those whose rights were breached.
Asia Cement on Tuesday said it would ensure that the mine is environmentally sound, that water sources near the mine are protected and that mining safety standards meet regulations.
The company said it would work with relevant authorities to accommodate regular inspections and supervision of the mine’s operations.
All relevant data would be made available publicly, and the company would work with local Aboriginal communities in the spirit of Article 21, it said, adding that it would be happy to continue three-way talks with the government and Aboriginal communities.
The ministry said that three-way talks were first proposed by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in a meeting of the Presidential Office’s Indigenous Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Committee on Dec. 28 last year.
Five such talks have been held since January, attended by Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Yao Jen-to (姚人多), Minister Without Portfolio Lin Wan-i (林萬億), Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) and Minister of Economic Affairs Sheng Jong-chin (沈榮津), they said.
The ministry also hoped to allay concerns that the mine would be exempt from future environmental impact assessments, saying that under new regulations, mines larger than 2 hectares, as well as those with an output in excess of 50,000 tonnes over five years, must undergo an assessment within three years of the amendment’s passage.
Asia Cement’s quarries will not be exempted from this regulation, the ministry said.
Sheng said he hopes the company would take the interests of the Aboriginal communities into consideration.
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
RSS