With legislators having until today to review a proposed amendment to the Water Pollution Control Act (水汙染防治法) in the current legislative session, environmental protection groups yesterday urged Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators not to block the passage of the draft amendments, which would impose steeper fines on companies and farms that bypass rules to discharge excessive amounts of wastewater and pollutants.
Without giving any names, Environmental Jurist Association secretary-general Echo Lin (林仁惠) said that due to possible influence-peddling between KMT legislators and corporations, some legislators delayed the review process by presenting reasons aimed at diverting attention, thereby blocking the passage of the draft amendments.
KMT legislators Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆), Chiang Hui-chen (江惠貞) and Su Ching-chuan (蘇清泉) were among those who opposed proposals to raise fines during the latest committee meeting to review the amendment on Dec. 31.
Tsai debated with Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) officials over raising the fine for firms that do not submit wastewater pollutant monitoring data or firms that file forged data, asking whether firms that violate the rules out of negligence are to be fined, while Chiang engaged in a heated exchange with Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬), a supporter of the proposal.
Su, who opposed raising the fines for operators in the animal husbandry sector who dump excessive amounts of outflow, told his counterparts who support the proposal: “Let’s see whether you will let out a cry of hunger when you have no pork to eat.”
In response to the KMT legislators’ concerns about smaller establishments receiving hefty fines, attorney and long-time environmentalist Thomas Chan (詹順貴) said the main purpose of the amendment is to deter large corporations from causing pollution by raising the maximum fine, and that judges would issue penalties according to the severity of the violations.
Citing the example of Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (AEC), which dumped massive amounts of wastewater into Houjin River (後勁溪) in Greater Kaohsiung, he said that the company was given only a NT$3 million fine and that the penalty was not even imposed based on the water act, which at the time of the ruling, in October last year, stipulated just a NT$600,000 fine for firms that discharge more wastewater than permitted.
“The KMT legislators may sugarcoat their blocking the amendment by saying that raising the fines would have a negative impact on industry, but the most important aspect of this amendment is to protect law-abiding firms and shelter them from the unwanted competition brought by violators,” he said.
Taiwan Watch Institute’s Herlin Hsieh (謝和霖) panned the Council of Agriculture and the KMT for what he said was their “perverse” stance while objecting to proposals to increase fines for animal farmers and saying that the farmers should be consulted before setting the amounts of the fines.
“The council should provide guidance to small farmers so that their outflows can meet requirements, instead of worrying that they might not be able to afford the fines,” he said.
Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan director Tsai Hue-hsun (蔡卉荀) called on KMT legislators to behave conscientiously at the legislature today to best serve the public interest.
With reference to the ASE case, she said: “Let’s not forget whose money will be spent to cover the expenses required to clean up streams when they become polluted.”
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle