Eleven people have been indicted for allegedly collecting, storing and processing waste without a license to support an operation that was illegally exporting it, Taoyuan prosecutors said in a statement on Monday.
The Northern Center of Environmental Management informed the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office about the operation, which is believed to have begun in March 2023, the statement said.
During searches on Feb. 7, investigators found about 5,549 tonnes of plastic waste stored at three facilities in Sinwu (新屋) and Jhongli (中壢) districts, Ministry of Environment officials said.
Photo: Lee Jung-ping, Taipei Times
Investigators learned that 5,832 tonnes of waste had been shipped overseas, the office said, adding that NT$394.79 million (US$10.73 million) of suspected illegal gains was confiscated.
Six companies involved in unlicensed waste operations could be fined up to NT$10 million each by the Taoyuan Department of Environmental Protection, Deputy Minister of Environment Shen Chih-hsiu (沈志修) said.
The 11 people were indicted for operating landfills and storing, processing and disposing waste without a license, offenses that carry a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of NT$15 million, Shen said.
The environment ministry, prosecutors and police have been part of an alliance to tackle breaches of environmental protection laws since 2011, Deputy Minister of Justice Hsu Hsi-hsiang (徐錫祥) said.
Over the past 14 years, the alliance has used technology and a division of specialists to investigate environmental crimes, Hsu said.
Prosecutors have seized illegal gains and assessed how well sites were restored to how they were prior to being used as dumps to determine what level of sentencing they would push for, he said.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
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