An environmental group yesterday called on Asia Cement Corp to negotiate with Truku people living near its quarry in Hualien County’s Sinchengshan (新城山) as required by a recent court ruling, rather than posting advertisements to spread rumors.
The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday last week asked the Ministry of Economic Affairs to revoke its approval of the firm’s permit renewal for the mine, after four Truku people filed a lawsuit against the ministry in 2017.
The firm failed to obtain the consent of the Truku before having its mining permit extended for another 20 years, as required by Article 21 of the Indigenous Peoples Basic Act (原住民族基本法), the court said.
Civic groups hailed the ruling as a landmark victory for upholding transitional justice of Aborigines, while Asia Cement said it would appeal.
The firm’s corporate union based in Hualien yesterday took out large advertisements in several Chinese-language newspapers protesting the ruling and posted them on the company Web site.
The firm applied for the permit extension in line with the Mining Act (礦業法) and the conclusion reached in an Executive Yuan meeting on Nov. 7, 2016, the union said.
The court’s decision might “seriously affect” industrial operations, labor rights as well as the government’s credibility for boosting the economy, it said.
Always attending to the safety and rights of Aborigines, the firm would continue communicating with Aboriginal communities and offer them more jobs, feedback and development, it added.
Accusing the union of spreading rumors, Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan urged the company to stop menacing the government and the public, and sowing division among Truku with varied opinions.
If the firm really cares for local people, it should negotiate with them as required by the ruling, the group said, adding that no one has the right to choose which law to follow.
A legally operated business would never instigate its union to break the law under the pretext that they need jobs, it said.
The group also cited a Control Yuan report published on Oct. 13, 2017, which corrected the ministry’s failure to note the mine’s precarious environmental and cultural conditions, and the Executive Yuan’s dereliction of duties to act according to law.
The government should not squander more public funds and judiciary resources defending a single company, it said, while asking authorities to amend the outdated Mining Act to close potential loopholes.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by