A coalition of environmental and Aboriginal rights groups yesterday called for reform that would require mining companies to consult and obtain consent from Aboriginal communities before starting operations.
Last week, draft amendments to the Mining Act (礦業法) passed initial reviews by the Legislative Yuan’s Economics Committee.
“While several good proposals have been adopted in the draft bill, some have been left out,” Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan researcher Huang Ching-ting (黃靖庭) said during a protest outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. “For example, the draft still allows exceptions in which companies do not need consent from land owners or Aboriginal communities to start mining.”
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
“Of all 202 mines nationwide, 161 are on Aboriginal land, but only companies applying for mining permits for the first time are required to obtain Aboriginal communities’ consent,” she said.
According to articles 20 and 21 of the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law (原住民族基本法) passed in 2005, any land development project or use of natural resources on Aboriginal land requires consent from the Aboriginal community, Legal Aid Foundation lawyer Hsieh Meng-yu (謝孟羽) said.
However, “despite efforts by the Council of Indigenous Peoples, the Executive Yuan allows companies to renew mining permits without the consent of Aboriginal communities,” he said. “Most of the companies are not applying for permits for the first time, so what is the use of those two articles? Are Aboriginal people not being bullied?”
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) should make good on her promises to reform mining and promote Aboriginal transitional justice, he added.
Companies should obtain consent from Aboriginal communities, even when applying for license renewal, Indigenous Youth Front member Lai Wei-li (賴韋利) said, adding that a miners’ licenses should be revoked if they fail to do so.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Sufin Siluko (廖國棟) and New Power Party Legislator Kawlo Iyun Pacidal, who are both Amis, have signed a document endorsing the proposals, Lai said.
While the draft amendments have stricter requirements regarding environmental impact assessments, the provisions could be scrapped during cross-caucus negotiations, Huang said.
“What we need is true reform with all the necessary amendments,” she said, adding that the legislature should pass the amendments in the upcoming extraordinary session expected to begin on Monday.
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
RSS