Environmentalists yesterday urged the government to “toughen up” and regulate factories built illegally on farmland, as more than 20,000 factories have not yet registered, even though the grace period ends on March 20.
Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan said the government had failed to enforce regulations so that many businesses operate factories on farmland, causing pollution and harm to public health.
Before May 20, 2016, there were 45,000 unauthorized factories on agricultural land across Taiwan, Taipei office director Wu Yuan-yu (吳沅諭) told a news conference.
Photo: Lo Chi, Taipei Times
The Factory Management Act (工廠管理輔導法) was amended in 2010 to allow registration of such factories, Wu said.
About 23,000 have registered, meaning that 22,000 have not, she added.
The deadline was extended twice, giving businesses 12 years and three separate chances to comply, yet still nearly half are betting that the government would not take enforcement seriously, she said.
With local elections scheduled for November, many unregulated factories are lobbying politicians to continue the lax enforcement, Wu said, adding that some lobbyists claiming to represent agricultural interests have pushed for relaxation of restrictions for manufacturers.
“Is it that only manufacturers’ votes matter, but the voices of local victims can be ignored?” Wu asked.
At least 100,000 homes and farms are affected by the 45,000 factories, harming not only economic interests, but also farm productivity and food security, she said, urging the government to listen to all sides, not just the manufacturers.
Since setting up an online reporting tool with g0v.tw in 2020, more than 1,500 illegal factories have been reported, said Tsai Chia-sheng (蔡佳昇), a researcher with the group.
Behind each of these reports are thousands of residents fed up with years of dealing with pollution, smells and noise, he added.
However, it is clear from the thousands of cases that have entered litigation that people are afraid to call them out, with businesses allegedly disseminating threats to “finish” whoever reported them, Tsai said.
Officials’ indulgence of illegal lobbying has further discouraged people from acting, causing them to turn to private groups for help, he added.
Lai Pei-lien (賴沛蓮), another researcher with the group, said that allowances under the Factory Management Act have made an already bad pollution problem worse.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has agreed to publish information about unauthorized facilities next month, she said, adding that it would hopefully not keep covering for the manufacturers.
Lai also invited the public to sign a petition calling on the ministry to “put an end to farmland factories,” available on its Web site or at tinyurl.com/4tz4zscd.
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