A huge fire that broke out at the Formosa Plastics Group-owned Naphtha Cracker plant in Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮) appears to have left a burning aftertaste for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which said yesterday it would not likely support further expansion for the industry if it were to regain power in 2012.
Production was partly halted at the 1,680 hectare complex after a fire broke out at a pollution treatment facility on Sunday night. Experts believe the fire, which sent heavy plumes of black smoke into the sky, will likely exacerbate health problems for local residents who are already said to be suffering from a noticeable increase in cancer-like symptoms over the past few years.
Traveling to the area yesterday morning, DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said the incident highlighted problems with the country’s continued dependence on the high-polluting petrochemical industry, adding that the government should take a second look at plans to expand the complex.
She met with farmers, who took her to see mounds of blackened earth that they said was once fertile soil, but had since been contaminated by the facility’s dangerous chemicals, which polluted the atmosphere following the heavy fire.
DPP spokesperson Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said the party recognized that Taiwan’s economic development should no longer depend on expansion of the petrochemical industry.
“We will not interfere with [plants that are] already operating ... but the DPP will not develop this industry further if we regain power,” he said.
As an alternative, he said Taiwan should make new inroads into the renewable energy sector, calling it the next step for a country that is severely limited in natural resources and arable land.
The remarks signal a change of position for the DPP, as it previously supported the construction of another petrochemical plant.
Acknowledging this shift, Tsai Ing-wen said: “It shows that the DPP is a political party capable of reflection. All we are doing is returning to the roots of our party — putting environmental protection and living standards first.”
In 2005, the then-DPP administration pushed for construction of another Naphtha Cracker plant that would be located in Changhua County. The NT$400 billion (US$12.5 billion) proposal is pending approval from an environmental impact assessment.
If approved, the complex will likely create up to 5,000 jobs in the region, but environmental scientists have said that the complex could cause an increase in health problems among area residents.
Worrying signs of the industry’s environmental impact have caused alarm among county commissioners. Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chi-fen (蘇治芬) of the DPP traveled to Taipei City yesterday to meet with DPP officials, asking for their support to block future construction proposals.
At a separate setting yesterday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chang Chia-chun (張嘉郡) proposed amending the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) to oblige polluting enterprises to give 20 percent of their income tax and 30 percent of their commodity tax directly to cities and counties where their factories are located.
Joined by village chiefs from Mailiao Township at a KMT caucus press conference after meeting Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) earlier yesterday, Chang said petrochemical plants did not necessarily bring economic prosperity to local residents, but often caused pollution.
Chang said giving part of the enterprises’ income and commodity taxes directly to local governments could help make operation of the companies more acceptable to the people.
Chang, elected in Yunlin, also demanded that the central government establish an emergency response center at Mailiao to help residents evacuate “should any accidents occur.”
Mailiao Township chief Lin Sung-li (林松利) urged the company to propose plans to compensate township farmers. He also called on the central government to send “credible environmental protection groups” to monitor and investigate the water and air quality of the township.
Also See: Formosa may need two weeks to restart
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
RSS