After an investigation that took more than three years to complete, the Executive Yuan on Wednesday last week issued a report on Asia Cement Corp’s mining operations in Hualien County’s Sincheng Township (新城), sparking criticism among members of the investigative team.
The Cabinet established a 13-member team in June 2018 to investigate how Asia Cement in 1973 obtained the rights to mine marble in a 400-hectare area on a mountain that is home to traditional indigenous dwellings and hunting grounds.
The team, led by Minister Without Portfolio Lin Wan-i (林萬億), included government officials and academics, along with representatives from Asia Cement and the indigenous community that lives near the mining site.
Photo: CNA
The Cabinet in a statement on Wednesday last week cited the 198-page report as saying that no evidence collected suggested a legal contravention by Asia Cement in its 1973 bid for mining rights from the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
It said the Hualien County Government’s review of the application, as well as subsequent handling of the issue over several years, neglected the traditions of the indigenous community.
However, nine members of the investigative team released their own statement on Tuesday criticizing the Cabinet’s interpretation of the report.
The group said that Asia Cement might not have communicated conclusively with the indigenous community to obtain their consent.
The Cabinet’s position in the final chapter of the report was not reviewed by the entire investigative team, and undermined efforts to bring justice to the area’s indigenous people, it said.
Lin’s office on Tuesday said that the report detailed what had happened in the past in terms of Asia Cement’s mining operations in Sincheng, and did not contradict any court rulings made on the case.
The final chapter, which includes a conclusion and recommendations, did not deviate from the report’s findings, the office said, adding that it was approved by representatives of the central government, Asia Cement and the indigenous community, including five indigenous members of the inquiry team.
The Cabinet’s statement oversimplified the report’s findings, and failed to highlight the “inappropriate” and “unjust” findings that demonstrated how the rights of the community had been undermined over the years, said National Dong Hwa University professor Chen Yi-feng (陳毅峰), a member of the investigative team.
In another statement issued on Wednesday, the group called on the government to implement all the recommendations made in the report, including urging local authorities to allocate funding to improve infrastructure and economic development in Sincheng.
The government should also develop a plan to restore indigenous rights to land and natural resources in the area currently being developed by Asia Cement within one year of the release of their report, they said.
The company should establish an indigenous-managed fund to transform the mining site before the company ends operations there, they added.
The company said on Wednesday last week that the report “proved that Asia Cement had not committed any wrongdoing” when acquiring permission to mine in Sincheng.
Asia Cement has been allowed to continue its mining operations in the area, despite the extension of the company’s mining rights being revoked by the Supreme Administrative Court in Taipei in a case brought by indigenous residents.
The Supreme Administrative Court in September last year upheld the lower court’s ruling revoking the extension of mining rights to 2037.
Despite the legal setback, Asia Cement has strengthened its position after indigenous residents voted overwhelmingly on Saturday in favor of extending the mining rights.
The result allows the company to file a new application with the economics ministry for the extension of its mining rights.
However, those opposed said the poll did not adhere to legal procedures, adding that they would continue to fight against mining operations in the area.
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