On April 7, an explosion occurred at Formosa Plastics Group’s naphtha cracker complex in Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮). I was at the Haikou Theme Park in Taisi Township (台西) that day. The bang was as loud as an earthquake, destroying windows and walls, and then enveloping everything in smoke.
Breathing was difficult and debris fell into fish ponds in what must have been the biggest and most frightening of the more than 30 safety incidents at the plant over the past 20 years. Hopefully, it also shook Yunlin residents into action.
Safety incidents at the plant are frequent, so why has the group not been fined, such as the US$500 million fine it was given over its steel plant in Vietnam?
The group’s 30,000 employees receive year-end bonuses equivalent to more than six months’ salary, totaling NT$8 billion (US$259.3 million), but they still feel that it is not enough, as it makes an annual profit of NT$200 billion.
The Mailiao plant makes up one-tenth of Taiwan’s GDP and nine-tenths of Yunlin’s annual production value, but it also accounts for 20 percent of Taiwan’s carbon emissions.
The population is aging, incomes are falling, and pollution and cancer rates are shooting up. These facts are causing the Yunlin population to shrink — it has already fallen below 690,000.
The candy factory in The Secret of Candy Factory (糖果工廠的秘密) — an animated short film by schoolchildren in Mailiao about industrial development and its relationship with people, the land and the environment — really did explode this time, and all of Yunlin suddenly wants the candy, but does anyone still believe the lie about coexistence and shared prosperity?
The only way to give Yunlin residents a fair deal is to close the plant. The central government must set up a Mailiao disaster recovery center.
The plant must establish a disaster fund to compensate residents for their losses and raise the annual compensation per person by NT$10,000 in addition to the current NT$7,200.
Here are some other demands connected to the Mailiao plant.
First, Yunlin needs a second east-west expressway from Mailiao to Linnei (林內) connected to the Sun Yat-sen Freeway (Freeway No. 1), the Formosa Freeway (Freeway No. 3) and Provincial Highway No. 19 to provide a main transportation thoroughfare and unhindered development of a coastal road.
Second, remove the Mailiao water diversion at Jiji Weir (集集攔河堰), manage sandstorms and prevent land subsidence.
Third, amend the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) so that 40 percent of the tax revenue from the plant is redirected to Yunlin County and demand that the company’s headquarters be moved to Yunlin.
Fourth, allocate funds to assist the development of power generation for Yunlin.
It is time that the central government listens to the people of Mailiao.
Lin Wen-ping is a Yunlin County councilor.
Translated by Perry Svensson
Why is Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) not a “happy camper” these days regarding Taiwan? Taiwanese have not become more “CCP friendly” in response to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) use of spies and graft by the United Front Work Department, intimidation conducted by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Armed Police/Coast Guard, and endless subversive political warfare measures, including cyber-attacks, economic coercion, and diplomatic isolation. The percentage of Taiwanese that prefer the status quo or prefer moving towards independence continues to rise — 76 percent as of December last year. According to National Chengchi University (NCCU) polling, the Taiwanese
It would be absurd to claim to see a silver lining behind every US President Donald Trump cloud. Those clouds are too many, too dark and too dangerous. All the same, viewed from a domestic political perspective, there is a clear emerging UK upside to Trump’s efforts at crashing the post-Cold War order. It might even get a boost from Thursday’s Washington visit by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In July last year, when Starmer became prime minister, the Labour Party was rigidly on the defensive about Europe. Brexit was seen as an electorally unstable issue for a party whose priority
US President Donald Trump is systematically dismantling the network of multilateral institutions, organizations and agreements that have helped prevent a third world war for more than 70 years. Yet many governments are twisting themselves into knots trying to downplay his actions, insisting that things are not as they seem and that even if they are, confronting the menace in the White House simply is not an option. Disagreement must be carefully disguised to avoid provoking his wrath. For the British political establishment, the convenient excuse is the need to preserve the UK’s “special relationship” with the US. Following their White House
US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has brought renewed scrutiny to the Taiwan-US semiconductor relationship with his claim that Taiwan “stole” the US chip business and threats of 100 percent tariffs on foreign-made processors. For Taiwanese and industry leaders, understanding those developments in their full context is crucial while maintaining a clear vision of Taiwan’s role in the global technology ecosystem. The assertion that Taiwan “stole” the US’ semiconductor industry fundamentally misunderstands the evolution of global technology manufacturing. Over the past four decades, Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), has grown through legitimate means
RSS