Scaling down Kuokuang Petrochemical to get EIA passed

The Taipei Times reports that the Kuokuang Petrochemical Park investment project will be scaled down to increase the chances of it passing an environmental impact assessment according to state-owned oil refiner CPC Corp. It appears that the new strategy to get this environmentally destructive project's environmental impact assessment(EIA) passed is to scale it down and get that passed and then increase the size of the planned petrochemical park by submitting small expansion projects to ultimately achieve the original planned petrochemical park. See Petrochemical plan to be scaled down: CPC Corp, Taiwan in the Taipei Times.

Happy New Year !

Happy New Year and all the best for 2011 !


"Because every green measure, every conservation effort and all the little economies we could make in our daily lives, may look insignificant if we choose to look at the big picture. On the other hand, if we view that big picture as millions of little choices made by people just like us, that's how we can come to understand why it's our own choices that are so important."
A comment posted on Birdforum by James Owen.

International Workshops

International Workshops:

3rd [Habitat] Workshop (2009)
Averting the baiji syndrome: conserving habitat for critically endangered dolphins in the Eastern Taiwan Strait

2nd Workshop (2007)
Taiwan Pink Dolphin Workshop - Press Release

Report of the 2nd International Workshop on Conservation & Research Needs of the Eastern Taiwan Straight Population of Indo-Pacific humpback Dolphins

1st Workshop (2004)
Report Of The First Workshop On Conservation And Research Needs Of Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins, Sousa Chinensis, In The Waters Of Taiwan.

Research Action Plan For The Humpback Dolphins Of Western Taiwan.

The Kuokuang hearing debacle

On Tuesday 14 December a legislative hearing on the planned Kuokuang petrochemical complex was held in Dacheng, Changhua County. The hearing was characterised by anger and frustration. It was a fine example of what a failed hearing was. But that may well be just what the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) wanted. See the following letter, MOEA runs Kuokuang hearing into the ground by attorney Severia Lu and Janis Wang from the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association that appeared in the Taipei Times last Wednesday.

MOEA runs Kuokuang hearing into the ground
By Severia Lu, Janis Wang

The legislature Recently passed a resolution under the Administrative Procedure Act (行政程序法) requiring the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) to hold a legislative hearing on the Kuokuang Petrochemical case within two months. It subsequently passed a motion stipulating that at least one preparatory hearing be held before the legislative hearing.

Public reaction was originally quite positive because transparency and public engagement are needed for issues this controversial and it would be the first time in Taiwan a hearing of this kind had been required, aimed at clearing up any contentious issues through a thorough discussion.

However, the ministry held the legislative hearing in Dacheng, Changhua County, yesterday, amid angry — and sporadically violent — scenes outside as many people were denied access because of the high turnout. And, according to our understanding, those who could enter were limited to three minutes in which to voice their opinions. There was no preparatory hearing.

Yesterday’s events attest to the uniqueness of the Kuokuang case and the special handling it requires. Not only is the case hugely complicated, it has also been highly controversial, not only among members of the public, but also among thousands of academics and members of Academia Sinica.

While it is true that Article 58 of the Administrative Procedure Act allows administrative bodies to use their own discretion in holding these preparatory hearings, the MOEA’s perfunctory approach to this process has been a waste of legislative resources and an insult to the intent of the act.

The format of the legislative hearing the ministry insisted upon was little different from other public hearings we have seen related to this case, held under the requirements of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (環境影響評估法). Each side gets to say, or rather shout, their piece, and the exchange just descends into an ideological slinging match that goes nowhere. This shows the importance of a preparatory hearing, in which each side is allowed to present their main points, focus on the contentious issues and exchange information. Then, the objective of the legislative hearing is to enable the government to obtain the pertinent facts before it makes any decisions.

The ministry’s International Trade Commission (ITC) frequently holds administrative hearings, so the ministry clearly has a lot of expertise and experience in such things. However, the MOEA appears to have decided not to allow pertinent information to be considered on the Kuokuang case and to not allow other parties to participate in the process. These are little more than ploys to reduce potential controversy and risks.

If the government were really interested in hearing what the public had to say and in clearing up any issues and impacts this project would have on the lives and health of those who came to the hearing to voice their concerns, it would expect the MOEA to do its job and hold a meaningful legislative hearing conducted in a proper manner. The ministry should have had a preparatory hearing, and could have involved other government bodies. This would have ensured that the original intent of the Administrative Procedure Act was fulfilled, and would also have avoided further conflict.

Instead, the MOEA has tried to manipulate the system and, in doing so, demonstrated its contempt for a resolution made in the nation’s legislature. It has trampled roughshod over the Administrative Procedure Act and seriously damaged public trust in the nation’s administrative institutions.

Severia Lu is an attorney at the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association. Janis Wang is a representative at the association.

TRANSLATED BY PAUL COOPER

Also see:
Factions clash at Kuokuang hearing

2009 Habit Workshop: Averting the baiji syndrome: conserving habitat for critically endangered dolphins in the Eastern Taiwan Strait

The 2009 Habitat Workshop report has been published as a peer reviewed paper titled Averting the baiji syndrome: conserving habitat for critically endangered dolphins in the Eastern Taiwan Strait. Click to view the paper.

2010 Environmental, Economic, & Social Justice Film Festival begins Saturday

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A reminder that the 2010 Environmental, Economic, & Social Justice Film Festival takes place in Taipei this weekend. The festival begins at 14:00 on Saturday with the Taiwan Premiere of Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story. This event is free to the public. For festival details click here.

Photos: 11/13 Say No to Kuokuang Petrochemical! March

Thousands braved the rain on Saturday afternoon to send a firm message to the authorities that Kuokuang and other such petrochemical projects should be done away with. Despite dubious legality even to the point of ignoring Supreme Court orders, the Central Taiwan Science Park expansion projects are being forced into reality by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) that seems to confuse its function of environmental protection with that of economic development and by Premier Wu Den-yih who seems to behave more like a petrochemical executive these days than the nation's premier.

The planned Kuokuang Petrochemical Project will lay waste to the Dacheng mudflats and wetlands which are of huge importance to the continued survival of Taiwan's west coast ecosystems and have also been listed internationally as an Important Bird Area because of their importance as a wintering ground for several threatened bird species. Local fishers and communities that depend on the wetlands and mudflats for their survival will have their way of life destroyed. Dacheng is also vital remaining habitat for the critically endangered Taiwan pink dolphins and the view of the majority of international cetacean experts is that if the project goes ahead the negative impact on the dolphins will almost certainly be the nail in the coffin that drives these unique animals to extinction.

What follows are some photos of Saturday's march against the Kuokuang Project and Taiwan's petrochemical industry. Photos courtesy of Taiwan Environmental Information Association (TEIA), MFCU and Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association.


























See:
Protesters urge reverse in petrochemical policy in the Taipei Times.

November 13, march:- Say No to Kuokuang Petrochemical! Protect our wetlands on the Chunghua coast!

11/13 Petrochemical Policy should turn Green Salvation Parade

November 13, march:- Say No to Kuokuang Petrochemical! Protect our wetlands on the Chunghua coast!

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On Saturday 13 November 2010, an environmental protection march primarily focused on Kuokuang Plant and other petrochemical issues will take place in Taipei. Petrochemical projects are the Kuokuang Plant planned for Changhua, the FPG 6th Naptha cracker expansion in Yunlin and the 3rd cracker in Kaohsiung. All these petrochemical projects will have a devastating impact on Taiwan's natural environmental. The march is a registered permitted march so foreign persons in Taiwan who wish to join do not need to worry about deportation for being outside of their visa purposes! Meet other marchers at the Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT Station at 14:00 and marchers will march to the Presidential Square at 15:00 where there will be a gathering, and a street party and performances start at 17:00.

Date: Saturday 13 November 2010
Meeting Point: Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT Station
Time: 14:00
Contact: jwang(at)wildatheart.org.tw

For more infomation visit the official website.
Also see:
11/13 Petrochemical Policy should turn Green Salvation Parade

Photos: 11/13 Say No to Kuokuang Petrochemical! March

Photos:- 2010 TEIA Ecological Fair and Dolphin Music Festival

On Saturday 6th November 2010 the Taiwan Environmental Information Association (TEIA) Environmental Trust held its 2010 Ecological Fair and Dolphin Music Festival in Fangyuan Township, Changhua County. The purpose of the festival was to promote the purchase of surrounding land to preserve the natural environment and to raise awareness of the threats to the local communities in Fangyuan and Dacheng and the surrounding natural environment from the expansion of the Central Taiwan Science Park. Much of the surrounding area will be destroyed if the planned Kuokuang Petrochemical project goes ahead. The project will destroy the traditional way of life of many local farmers, fishers and oyster farmers. Pollution is of serious concern to the locals and natural environment alike. Reclamation of much of the Dacheng wetlands, an internationally listed Important Bird Area (IBA) will devastate the vitally important mudflats that are critical to preserving what remains of western Taiwan's natural environment on the over-developed west coast. This area is critically important habitat for Taiwan's critically endangered pink dolphins and its loss would more than likely drive the struggling Taiwan pink dolphins to extinction.


Various NGOs and concerned groups set up information booths to advise visitors on issues of concern.




Local produce was available for visitors to sample. Visitors queued for the well-known local oyster pancakes.

TEIA's Dr John Tsai, an expert on the globally threatened Eurasian Curlew, speaks to visitors about the Kuokuang Petrochemical issue.

Various local artists brought their message to the visitors through music and song.



Views of the critically important mudflats that will largely disappear if the Kuokuang Petrochemical project goes ahead. The mudflats are an internationally listed important bird area and are wintering grounds for endangered species such as the Eurasian Curlew and Saunders's Gull and vitally important habitat to the resident critically endangered Taiwan pink dolphins.




Also See:

TEIA Environmental Trust Ecological Festival 2010

Plans to buy another 800 hectares of wetlands to save pink dolphin habitat and to protect threatened birds and marine life

Academics against new Kuokuang plant

Dolphins in the waters around FPG and Dacheng

FPG land reclamation in pink dolphin habitat update

More recent Pink Dolphin photos

MFCU Press Release

Wu the Kuokuang Petrochemical executive continues to forget he's the Nation's Premier

Taiwan High Administrative Court orders Central Taiwan Science Park to halt all expansion pending a ruling on two lawsuits

2010 Environmental, Economic, & Social Justice Film Festival

Taiwan Premiere:- Capitalism: A Love Story - Michael Moore

The 2010 Environmental, Economic, & Social Justice Film Festival will be held on Saturday, November 20 and Sunday, November 21 at Taipei Stock Theater. The Festival will kick off at 14:00 on Saturday, November 20 with the Taiwan Premiere of Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story.

Date: Saturday, November 20 & Sunday, November 21.
Time: 14:00
Where: Taipei Stock Theater, 3F, No. 34, Section 1, Ba-de Road, Taipei.
Website: http://sites.google.com/site/wildatheartfilmfest/
Contact: comment@wildatheart.org.tw
Phone: 886-2-2382-5789

This event is free to the public, however, donations are welcome and will defray administrative costs. Any amount exceeding the administrative costs will go to support Wild at Heart's ongoing litigation, lobbying and education activities.


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November 20, 2010; Saturday
14:00
Capitalism: A Love Story (127min)
16:00
The Story of Bottled Water (8min)
The Story of Cosmetics (8min)
Bullshit (72min)
18:00
The Poisoned Sky (93min)
20:00
Texas Gold (26min)
Invisible River (29min)
The "Missing" Village (17min)


November 21, Sunday
14:00
Taiwan's Critically Endangered Pink Dolphins (9min)
The End of the Line (82min)
16:00
Total Denial (92min)
18:00
Path to Paradise (102min)
20:00
The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (53min)


Sponsoring Organisation: Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association

Co-sponsors:
Anti Changbin Coal Plant Alliance;
Earth Passengers;
Green Formosa Front;
HSU Wen-fong, film director;
Laboratory of Fish Ecology & Evolution, Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica;
LIN Jia-an, film director;
Luminoso Film Co., Ltd;
Matsu's Fish Conservation Alliance;
Taipei Stock;
Taiwan Watch Institute;
VideoDB Enterprise Inc.;
Wind Music International Corporation;
WO MEN Films.

11/13 Petrochemical Policy should turn Green Salvation Parade

On Saturday 13 November 2010, an environmental protection march primarily focused on petrochemical issues will be held in Taipei.

The Kuokuang Plant planned for Changhua, the FPG 6th Naptha cracker expansion in Yunlin and the 3rd cracker in Kaohsiung are all petrochemical projects that will have a devastating impact on Taiwan's natural environmental. The march is a permitted march so foreign persons in Taiwan who wish to join do not need to worry about deportation for being outside of your visa purposes!

The march will convene in front of SOGO on the corner of Chunghsiao East and Fuxing Roads and marchers will march to the Presidential Square where there will be a gathering with talks and some performances.

Date: Saturday 13 November 2010

Assembly Point: Outside SOGO Department Store, corner of Chunghsiao East and Fuxing Roads.

Time: 14:00
March to Presidential Square at 15:00.
Street Party at 17:00

Contact: jwang(at)wildatheart.org.tw


More details are given here but are in Hanji so if you are a non Hanji reader you'll need to use Google translator to read it or ask a Hanji reading friend.

Also see:
November 13 March:- Say No to Kuokuang Petrochemical! Protect our wetlands on the Chunghua coast!

Photos: 11/13 Say No to Kuokuang Petrochemical! March

TEIA Environmental Trust Ecological Festival 2010

The Taiwan Environmental Information Association (TEIA) Environmental Trust 2010 Ecological Fair and Dolphin Music Festival will take place this Saturday (6th November 2010) in Fangyuan Township, Changhua County. Transport to Fangyuan leaves from the square in front of the Chunghua Train Station before 10:30am or via the Changhua-Yuanlin bus from the Changhua bus station (about 100m from the train station) on the Fangyuan-Putian Temple bus at 08:50,09:20,12:40.

Details can be found on the TEIA website. Details are in Hanji but can be viewed in English using a translator such as Google translator.


See:- Photos:- 2010 TEIA Ecological Fair and Dolphin Music Festival

IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group website

The IUCN Species Survival Commission's Cetacean Specialist Group (CSG) now has a website. The International Union for Conservation (IUCN) is the organisation responsible for the Red List of Threatened Species.

Several members of the CSG have been actively involved in efforts to study and save the critically endangered Taiwan pink dolphins. The CSG has included the workshop reports from both the 2004 and 2007 ETS Sousa (aka Taiwan pink dolphin) workshops held in Taiwan amongst their downloadable reports.

IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group website.

The Silver Ghosts of Huben

By Impiyani


Before dawn I was in Huben. It was still very dark and there was a chill in the air as I turned into the yard of Mr. Chang's traditional Taiwanese house. Multitudes of dogs snarled and yapped. They didn't seem very happy to see me. A large roster came over. He seemed friendlier. It was almost as if he was coming over for a predawn chat before doing his morning duty and waking the neighbourhood. Mr. Chang came out and we headed off up the track following the river. We both bounced around on our motorcycles as we made our way to his little wooden cabin further up the valley. Today we had a purpose. We were after the very elusive Silver Ghost of Taiwan's forests.

We reached the cabin and parked the motorcycles. We loaded up and climbed down onto the rocks in the river. To go deep into the Huben forest one has to follow the course of a river or stream. The steep cliffs and thick vegetation make it impossible to get deep into the remote parts of the forest other than by this means. Streams in Huben are very rocky. Generally, they don't carry very much water but when it rains they become raging torrents.

It was still dark as we started on our way. We hadn't gone far when the predawn calling of an endemic Taiwan Partridge started. Mr. Chang responded and the partridge called back. It wasn't far off but the thick forest shielded it from view. We carried on and in the east dawn began to break. The calls of songbirds surrounded us but it was too dark to see anything.

High in the trees above us a Crested Serpent Eagle greeted the new day with a call. Mr. Chang smiled and called back. The eagle immediately responded. We carried on with the soft calls of the eagle floating to us on the breeze.

It was hard going. Despite the chill in the air I was beginning to build up quite a sweat. Mr. Chang indicated we were getting close. Even the slightest rustle of clothing is enough to startle the Ghost. We moved very quietly. We carefully stepped from rock to rock. The forest was just light enough to see a short distance ahead now. We moved forward slowly. We would stop to listen and scan the area ahead for movement. Mr. Chang's sharp ears caught something. I hadn't heard it but he said he had. The Ghost was near.

We moved on. The river narrowed and vegetation had taken root in the stream bed. We stopped and searched the shadows ahead. One second I was looking at a shadow and the next instant the Ghost stepped forward from out of the shadow. We both saw the Ghost at the same instant. There it was. The distinct silver-white back, crest and tail contrasting against the dazzling blue of the body and the fire-red face and legs. I started to shake with excitement. I could hear my heart drumming in my ears. The Ghost melted into the vegetation and disappeared. I stood there breathless. There really wasn't enough light for a shot but I took my camera out of its bag and moved forward.

I crept over boulders and moved towards where the Ghost had vanished. I crept forward and once again it stepped out of the shadows. It was very dark but I took a few shots just to capture the moment. In an almost dream-like state I watched the Silver Ghost moving about in front of me.

A male Swinhoe's Pheasant (Lophura swinhoii) moves through the Huben undergrowth.


Robert Swinhoe had discovered the species, endemic to Taiwan, in April of 1862. He sent the skin to the great English ornithologist John Gould. Gould was the Curator and Preserver at the museum of the Zoological Society of London. It was the height of the great voyages of discovery and Gould was in the unique position of being on the receiving end of skins that were being sent to the Society from every corner of the globe.

Gould had thus described an extraordinary number of species from around the world. Amongst these were Darwin’s legendary finches. He wrote up the description for Robert Swinhoe’s new pheasant and it was published in the 1863 edition of The Ibis. Even the stuffy Victorian, Gould, was impressed by Formosa's Silver Ghost and stated, “This exceedingly beautiful species is one of the most remarkable novelties I have had the good fortune to describe.” He named the species after Swinhoe; Lophura swinhoii. When this majestic species was first revealed to the West, many dubbed the newly described Swinhoe's Pheasant as the world's most beautiful bird. To some, it remains so, and certainly the noble gent I was watching totally captivated me with its graceful splendor.

The pheasant moved off slowly. It was unaware of my presence and I was able to watch it for about two minutes in all. All too quickly time passed and it melted back into the forest. Mr. Chang and I pressed on. I was euphoric. This was my first Huben male. The Swinhoe's Pheasant is considered a bird of the mid elevation mountain forests. The handful that inhabit the lowland hills of Huben indicate that the species certainly did inhabit the central Taiwan lowland forests before humankind turned much of the lush lowland forest into monocrop fields, concrete jungles and industrial estates.

We moved on and then retraced our steps hoping to get another view of the pheasant. No luck second time round, so we pressed on again. Just as we came to a steep rise Mr. Chang’s sharp ears had heard something. We stopped and waited. Moments later I heard it too. There were Ghosts in the undergrowth. We waited. Suddenly Mr. Chang pointed. I didn't see anything and then my eyes caught a movement. There was a pair. I watched them stride through the undergrowth and then they vanished. It was time to head back.

Male Swinhoe's Pheasant (Lophura swinhoii):- Photo courtesy of Richard Yu.


We walked back down the stream. Monarchs, Fulvettas, and Bulbuls moved about through the trees. Some Taiwan Scimitar Babblers started to call. The Crested Serpent Eagle was calling, too. I was soaking the tranquility up and savoring it.At Mr. Chang's cabin we made some Oolong tea. We talked about Huben and its birds. I mentioned the Malayan Night Heron and Mr. Chang imitated the call. From just outside the window there was an immediate response. We both laughed. It was time to go and I climbed on my motorcycle. I had only gone a few meters when the Malayan Night Heron flew across the road. I stopped and snapped a quick shot of it in the early morning sun. It had been very good morning! And mornings such as this are becoming tragically rare.

Malayan Night Heron (Gorsachius melanolophus).


It has been several years since that morning. Since then, much of the Huben-Hushan Important Bird Area (IBA) has fallen victim to the Hushan Reservoir Project, a project that went ahead under extremely dubious legality. The stream is still there. The lower reaches below Mr. Chang’s cabin are covered in concrete now, just another of the concreted streams that have been covered over in the name of anti-erosion work. Too often streams in this area fall victim to schemes cooked up local contractors and officials where healthy streams that don’t have erosion problems get covered in concrete just for a quick buck.

The upper reaches of the stream are still good. The pheasants are still hanging on in their last lowland outpost. The reservoir will no doubt pose a serious barrier to threatened terrestrial birds like the Swinhoe’s Pheasant and Taiwan Partridge. It will increasingly isolate them as their genetic flow from the mountains is severed. Likely, the concrete will keep advancing slowly but steadily upstream and the trees will give way to fields and houses and the last lowland outpost of the noble Swinhoe’s Pheasant will be no more.

This is just one of many such tales. Downstream of the Hushan Reservoir project the fate of the Taiwan pink dolphins hangs in the balance. As we march into the second decade of the new millennium so much hangs in the balance. The catastrophe at Copenhagen has shown us that the world still doesn’t get it. In parting, I’ll leave you with a few words I saw in a post on Birdforum.net by a member named James Owen.

“Because every green measure, every conservation effort and all the little economies we could make in our daily lives, may look insignificant if we choose to look at the big picture. On the other hand, if we view that big picture as millions of little choices made by people just like us, that's how we can come to understand why it's our own choices that are so important.”

Taiwan pink dolphin (Sousa chinensis).

Shen's latest EPA green gimmick

The second fire at Formosa Plastics plant in Mailiao: Photo courtesy of MFCU.


Under the 'Environment' heading in the Quick Take section of today's Taipei Times is a brief titled Government promotes green. It tells how Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) Minister Stephen Shen and his EPA plan to "encourage private companies and local residents to develop green industries and combat global warming and resource degradation." Shen went on to explain how they plan to "promote the birth of 50 low-carbon communities around Taiwan over the next two years, six low-carbon cities within five years and four low-carbon living regions with 10 years." This all sounds very good. It has an almost noble quality about it. But yet Shen and his EPA have given the nod to massive petrochemical development with the various expansions of the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP). Unless the EPA incorporates such 'green' plans into a massive crack down on and clean up of the petrochemical industry in Taiwan these 'green' plans are nothing but green gimmicks. When the EPA starts to abide by the Supreme Court rulings that they ignore on the CTSP expansions. When the EPA really goes after Formosa Plastics for its disgraceful environmental record and puts those responsible for incidents such as the three recent fires at Formosa Plastics and its affiliates behind bars then and only then will such green projects have any meaning other than the EPA pretending to be green.

Taiwan EPA Minister Stephen Shu-hung Shen. His profile shows he has a Ph.D. in chemical engineering. Photo:-Taiwan EPA.


From Taipei Times Quick Take:

Government promotes green

Taiwan is working to foster an environment that will encourage private companies and local residents to develop green industries and combat global warming and resource degradation, Environmental Protection Administration Minister Stephen Shen (沈世宏) said. The centerpiece of the government’s plan, Shen said, was to promote the birth of 50 low-carbon communities around Taiwan over the next two years, six low-carbon cities within five years and four low-carbon living regions with 10 years. To achieve these goals, the government will push companies and banks devoted to ecological conservation to open offices in “low-carbon special zones,” in which electric vehicles will serve as the main means of transport, Shen said, adding that the government also planned to make the agricultural sector more environmentally friendly and turn incinerators into biomass energy production centers.

Also see:
Yet another FPG related fire

Formosa Plastics on fire again

Government quick to defend Formosa Plastics in the wake of a second fire

Opposition pressures Government in wake of the second Formosa fire

Taiwan High Administrative Court orders Central Taiwan Science Park to halt all expansion pending a ruling on two lawsuits

Candidates - No fallout from Formosa fire in Sinbei elections

Academics against new Kuokuang plant

Local residents block access to FPG plant

Local residents continue to block access to FPG plant

Government defies the courts with the President's blessing

Isn’t It Time the Legal Community Spoke Up?

Science park development at Houli gets the nod

Wu going soft on Formosa?

Taiwan's rubber stamp EPA

Photos of the Nan Ya Plastics Corp fire

Local residents gather to watch the Nan Ya Plastics Corp fire. No police or emergency management officials seem to be present to ensure the health and safety of residents and onlookers in this area. We would be interested to hear if this was indeed the situation.


On Sunday October 3rd, Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) affiliate, Nan Ya Plastics Corp, had a fire break out at their Chiayi Second Plant in Taibao City in Chiayi County. The blaze started at about 8:30am and raged for 17 hours before firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze. The plant produces a waterproof synthetic paper known as white pearl, or PEPA. No casualties were reported.

Two fires at the group’s petrochemical complex in Mailiao Township in neighbouring Yunlin County in July caused national outrage and provoked demonstrations. The October 3rd fire coupled with the two at the FPG Plant in Mailiao in July serve to highlight the groups ongoing horrendous environmental track record. FPG were the 2009 winners of the infamous Black Planet Award for their shocking disregard for the environment.

View of the Nan Ya Plastics Corp fire from the local cemetery. Photographing petrochemical fires from a cemetery must have a very sad feel about it.

The Nan Ya Plastics Corp fire from across the surrounding rice fields. Would you want to eat rice grown in these fields? Even without the fire I wouldn't. I wonder where this rice lands up?


Also see:
Yet another FPG related fire

Formosa Plastics on fire again

Government quick to defend Formosa Plastics in the wake of a second fire

Opposition pressures Government in wake of the second Formosa fire

Taiwan High Administrative Court orders Central Taiwan Science Park to halt all expansion pending a ruling on two lawsuits

Candidates - No fallout from Formosa fire in Sinbei elections

Academics against new Kuokuang plant

Local residents block access to FPG plant

Local residents continue to block access to FPG plant

Government defies the courts with the President's blessing

Isn’t It Time the Legal Community Spoke Up?

Science park development at Houli gets the nod

Wu going soft on Formosa?

Taiwan's rubber stamp EPA

Shen's latest EPA green gimmick

…and the Black Plant Award goes to…Formosa Plastics Group!

Diane Wilson speaks to reporters shortly before green shareholders and stakeholders entered the Formosa Plastics Corporation Annual Shareholders Meeting in Taipei in an attempt to present Formosa with the Black Planet Award.


Diane Wilson, author of An Unreasonable Woman (2005), which chronicles her David vs. Goliath battle with Formosa Plastics Group in Calhoun County, Texas, was in Taipei on June 25th, 2010 to help present the Black Planet Award to CEO Lee Chih-Tsuen and the founding family of Wang Yung-Ching.

The Black Planet Award 2009 was bestowed on FPG by the ethecon—Foundation Ethics and Economics, an organization based in Germany—for FPG’s egregious social and ecological damage of global dimensions. The Wang family is among the richest in the world with assets estimated at more than 70 billion US dollars. Although there have been repeated demonstrations against FPG in Taiwan and elsewhere around the world, these pleas for a change in their attitude of seeming disregard for humans and the environment have fallen largely on deaf ears.

In order to gain access to the FPG board meeting, individuals including those who have been victims of FPG's horrendous environmental practices have bought shares in the company. This group of individuals has been called the small green shareholders. However, their attempt at entering the meeting hall and presenting the award—an oil stained globe—to the senior executives of FPG was foiled by security guards who barred their entry. After a bit of pushing, shoving and shouting, in protest Wilson and members of this entourage sat down in the hall and refused to leave. They were forcibly removed after about 30 minutes.

Diane Wilson, herself a Blue Planet Award recipient in 2006 for her courageous, decades-long fight against FPG over the pollution of the species-rich habitat in the Gulf of Mexico, led the group of more than 20 representatives of other Taiwan and US environmental organizations. They include Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, Green Party Taiwan, Green Formosa Front, Mercy on the Earth Taiwan, Yunlin County Shallow Waters Aqua-culture Association, Taiwan Environmental Action Network, Taiwan Academy of Ecology Taipei Branch, Changhua Environmental Protection Union, the Calhoun County Resource Watch, and Injured Workers United.

Link to video of Diane et al at the Formosa board meeting.

See:
Green Groups Storm Formosa Plastics Corporation at Annual Shareholders Meeting - Taiwan's Newspapers Mum

Update: Environmental Groups Confront Formosa Plastics Corporation at Annual Shareholders Meeting

Breaking News: Greens storm the Formosa Plastics Annual Shareholders Meeting to present the Black Planet Award

Yet another FPG related fire

Formosa Plastics on fire again

Taiwan's rubber stamp EPA

A local on her knees before legions of police officers guarding the Formosa Plastics management offices at Mailiao. Exasperated locals gathered to demand the government do something about Formosa Plastics and its toxic problems in the wake of the second fire at the plant in a month. A third Formosa-related fire raged down in Chiayi County last Sunday.


Taiwan EPA Minister Stephen Shu-hung Shen. His profile shows he has a Ph.D. in chemical engineering. Photo:-Taiwan EPA.

Accusations that Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) are nothing new. With Taiwan's legacy of almost four decades of Martial Law and five decades of one party dictatorship, rubber stamp government agencies have been a reality in Taiwan for most of its post World War II existence. The situation began to change after the first democratic elections in 1996 but old habits die hard and with the nationalist KMT regime returning to power in 2008 it would appear that the old bosses still have a preference for doing things the old way.

Indeed, you may be forgiven for mistaking Taiwan's Premier Wu Den-yih for a petrochemical executive and the EPA for Petrochemical Development Bureau. The EPA's continued favouring of development at the expense of the environment and the well-being of local communities is alarming. It is also creating a climate of desperation where whole communities feel powerless to stand against so-called development dictated by government. Supreme Court rulings are just ignored by the government and the government sends in the riot police as soon as communities voice their concerns. With the government's handling of the situation literally shutting the accepted legal avenues that communities have to address the situation by ignoring court rulings etc the government is setting the stage for a very dangerous situation where communities may well feel that they have no other option but to take the law into their own hands and that is usually a very sad and tragic road when travelled.

For more comment read today's Taipei Times editorial: EPA’s rubber stamp spells ‘doom.’


Also see:
Yet another FPG related fire

Photos of the Nan Ya Plastics Corp fire

Formosa Plastics on fire again

Government quick to defend Formosa Plastics in the wake of a second fire

Opposition pressures Government in wake of the second Formosa fire

Taiwan High Administrative Court orders Central Taiwan Science Park to halt all expansion pending a ruling on two lawsuits

Candidates - No fallout from Formosa fire in Sinbei elections

Academics against new Kuokuang plant

Local residents block access to FPG plant

Local residents continue to block access to FPG plant

Government defies the courts with the President's blessing

Isn’t It Time the Legal Community Spoke Up?

Science park development at Houli gets the nod

Shen's latest EPA green gimmick

New Pink Dolphin paper published in Marine Mammal Science

A paper titled Evidence for year-round occurrence of the eastern Taiwan Strait Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in the waters of western Taiwan by John Y. Wang and Shih Chu Yang was published online by the journal Marine Mammal Sciece on 30 September 2010. The paper which presents evidence to show that the ETS Sousa [aka Taiwan pink dolphins] is present in the inshore waters of western Taiwan throughout the year will appear in print in Marine Mammal Science in an upcoming issue. Wang and Yang have authored several papers on the ETS Sousa and are also the authors of the book Identification Guide to the Dolphins and other small Cetaceans of Taiwan.

Wu going soft on Formosa?

Sunday's fire at FPG affiliate, Nan Ya Plastics Corp's Chiayi Second Plant in Taibao City in Chiayi County.


One would be forgiven for confusing the Taiwan Premier with an executive of the petrochemical industry. Premier Wu Den-yih seems to place the needs of the nation at a far lower priority than that of the petrochemical industry. In today's Taipei Times we are told that yesterday Premier Wu "urged Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) to tighten its internal controls after Sunday’s fire at Nan Ya Plastics Corp’s Second Plant in Taibao City, Chiayi County." He went on to say "he hoped the company would take [Sunday’s] fire seriously."

Premier Wu Den-yih. These days he seems to behave more like a petrochemical executive than the nation's premier: photo Wikimedia commons.


What's all this use of "urged" and "hoped"? Is fire safety voluntary in Taiwan's petrochemical industry? Wu, you're the nation's premier! How about something along the lines of "three fires since July is unacceptable! It is nothing short of disgraceful and and can only be seen as the result of a culture of grossly negligent management combined with substandard safety policies that puts profits above all else." After three fires surely members of FPG's top management need to be charged criminally?

For more on what our dear Premier Wu had to say see Wu urges FPG to tighten controls in today's Taipei Times.
For more comment see the editorial: Creating a culture of safety.

Another photo of Sunday's fire at FPG affiliate, Nan Ya Plastics Corp's Chiayi Second Plant in Taibao City in Chiayi County.

Also see:
Yet another FPG related fire

Formosa Plastics on fire again

Taiwan's rubber stamp EPA

Photos of the Nan Ya Plastics Corp fire

Government quick to defend Formosa Plastics in the wake of a second fire

Opposition pressures Government in wake of the second Formosa fire

Taiwan High Administrative Court orders Central Taiwan Science Park to halt all expansion pending a ruling on two lawsuits

Candidates - No fallout from Formosa fire in Sinbei elections

Academics against new Kuokuang plant

Local residents block access to FPG plant

Local residents continue to block access to FPG plant

Government defies the courts with the President's blessing

Isn’t It Time the Legal Community Spoke Up?

Science park development at Houli gets the nod

Shen's latest EPA green gimmick

Yet another FPG related fire

Sunday's fire at FPG affiliate, Nan Ya Plastics Corp's Chiayi Second Plant in Taibao City in Chiayi County.


Another Formosa Plastics fire ! Yes, unbelievably there has been another one. On Sunday FPG affiliate, Nan Ya Plastics Corp, had a fire break out at their Chiayi Second Plant in Taibao City in Chiayi County. The blaze started at about 8:30am on Sunday and raged for 17 hours before firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze. The plant produced a waterproof synthetic paper known as white pearl, or PEPA. No casualties have been reported.

Two fires at the group’s petrochemical complex in Mailiao Township in neighbouring Yunlin County in July caused national outrage and provoked demonstrations. It is clear that in the wake of the July fires that FPG has just carried on with their usual profit-at-all-cost manner of conducting business. Sunday's fire serves to highlight the groups ongoing horrendous environmental track record. FPG were the 2009 winners of the infamous Black Planet Award for their shocking disregard for the environment.

Yesterday, FPG chairman William Wong apologized for the fire. Under the circumstances such apologies can't be seen as anything but a sarcastic joke. The toxic fallout from such fires cause tremendous environmental damage. The Environmental Protection Administration said it had collected samples of black-colored rain water believed to have been the result of the fire. With the EPA's record of cosing up to the petrochemical industry one can't help but question if the EPA could be considered "neutral" enough to actually be entrusted with the analysis of such samples? Any reports issued by the EPA regarding this have to be seen as potentially suspect. A totally independent enquiry needs to be made into this and the other two recent Formosa fires. Clearly, whatever pressure the EPA and cabinet gave FPG after the two Mailiao fires in July it hasn't resulted in any meaningful changes in the safety standards at the group's plants.

See Formosa Plastics chief apologizes for fire in today's Taipei Times.


Also see:
Formosa Plastics on fire again

Photos of the Nan Ya Plastics Corp fire

Government quick to defend Formosa Plastics in the wake of a second fire

Opposition pressures Government in wake of the second Formosa fire

Taiwan High Administrative Court orders Central Taiwan Science Park to halt all expansion pending a ruling on two lawsuits

Candidates - No fallout from Formosa fire in Sinbei elections

Academics against new Kuokuang plant

Local residents block access to FPG plant

Local residents continue to block access to FPG plant

Government defies the courts with the President's blessing

Isn’t It Time the Legal Community Spoke Up?

Science park development at Houli gets the nod

Wu going soft on Formosa?

Taiwan's rubber stamp EPA

Shen's latest EPA green gimmick

Taiwan Without the Petrochemical Industry…

Take a look at this Global Voices post:

"What would have happened had the petrochemical industry ceased to exist in Taiwan? The Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) under Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs has tried hard to convince Taiwanese citizens that if Taiwan does not build more petrochemical industrial plants, its economy will collapse and people will suffer. On the other hand, environmentalists, activists, and bloggers are looking forward to seeing the end of such a polluting industry destroying the island's lands, water, and air."

Click to continue reading the post.

Taiwan Pink Dolphin Videos & Film Clips

Videos & Film Clips:

Taiwan Pink Dolphin Video

Video Footage of Taiwan's Pink Dolphins - Right In Front Of Formosa Plastics!

Taiwan Pink Dolphin Film Clips

Science Park Phase 3 development appeal rejected

Yesterday the Supreme Administrative Court rejected the government's appeal against the July 30th ruling to suspend work on the Central Taiwan Science Park's (CTSP) Phase 3 development project.

The environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project was ruled invalid by the Supreme Administrative Court on the 22 January this year. The Environmental Protection Administration, CTSP and developers ignored the ruling. Then, on July 30th the Taipei High Administrative Court again ruled against further development on the site, on the grounds that the National Science Council had not completed a comprehensive health risk assessment. The government's response to this was to question the ability of the judges and undermine the authority of the judiciary. Then, institute an appeal. But even before the court's had ruled on the appeal, EPA's Environmental Impact Assessment committee instead of sending the Phase-3 development project to a second round of review, chose to ignore the courts and gave conditional approval on Tuesday (2010-08-31) for the Phase 3 development of the CTSP at Cising and Houli to go ahead.

The ruling stopping work at the CTSP Phase 4 development (Kuokuang Petrochemical) in Erlin, Changhua County was revoked. The suspension of Phase 4 will now be up to the Taipei High Administrative Court.

See Science park's appeal rejected, Learning the lessons of Mailiao for Dacheng and Quantifying the non-quantifiable in today's Taipei Times.

Also see:
Academics against new Kuokuang plant

Government quick to defend Formosa Plastics in the wake of a second fire

Formosa Plastics on fire again

Taiwan High Administrative Court orders Central Taiwan Science Park to halt all expansion pending a ruling on two lawsuits

The saga of the CTSP Erlin Science Park and the Kuokuang Petrochemical Project

Wu the Kuokuang Petrochemical executive continues to forget he's the Nation's Premier

EPA and NSC appeal High Administrative Court order

Erosion of democracy and freedom Beijing style

Local residents block access to FPG plant

Local residents continue to block access to FPG plant

Plans to buy another 800 hectares of wetlands to save pink dolphin habitat and to protect threatened birds and marine life

Isn’t It Time the Legal Community Spoke Up?

Science park development at Houli gets the nod

Taiwan's rubber stamp EPA

Photos: EPA gives Phase 3 CTSP the nod even if the courts say no.

Photo A

Photo B

Photo C

Photo D

Photos A-D: local residents from Houli, stakeholders, environmental and rights groups, farmers groups and concerned citizens peacefully protested outside the EPA building in Taipei in the pouring rain on Tuesday calling on the EPA to follow the rule of law and send the project for a second round of review. Note the dress of the police. No riot gear is visible. A sure indication that protests were peaceful and police were not expecting trouble.

Photo E: observers view the meeting on a monitor in a different room.



On Tuesday (2010-08-31) the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) gave conditional approval for the Phase 3 Zone [Houli] of the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP) to go ahead. The decision to allow the highly controversial project to go ahead is in all likelihood illegal. The environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project was ruled invalid by the Supreme Administrative Court on the 22 January this year. Then, on 2 August the Taipei High Administrative Court issued an injunction against further development on the site, on the grounds that the National Science Council had not completed a comprehensive health risk assessment.

During Tuesday's five-hour-long meeting local residents from Houli, stakeholders, environmental and rights groups, farmers groups and concerned citizens peacefully protested outside the EPA building in Taipei in the pouring rain calling on the EPA to follow the rule of law and send the project to a second round of review.

The EPA minister Stephen Shen allowed a few representatives from various groups against the project to briefly address the meeting. But for the most part, those against the development were shut out in the pouring rain while a few observers were allowed to watch proceedings on a monitor from a different room.

See EPA greenlights science park expansion plan in Taiwan Today.


Also see:
Academics against new Kuokuang plant

Government quick to defend Formosa Plastics in the wake of a second fire

Formosa Plastics on fire again

Taiwan High Administrative Court orders Central Taiwan Science Park to halt all expansion pending a ruling on two lawsuits

The saga of the CTSP Erlin Science Park and the Kuokuang Petrochemical Project

Wu the Kuokuang Petrochemical executive continues to forget he's the Nation's Premier

EPA and NSC appeal High Administrative Court order

Erosion of democracy and freedom Beijing style

Local residents block access to FPG plant

Local residents continue to block access to FPG plant

Plans to buy another 800 hectares of wetlands to save pink dolphin habitat and to protect threatened birds and marine life

Isn’t It Time the Legal Community Spoke Up?

Science park development at Houli gets the nod

Science park development at Houli gets the nod

Despite a Supreme Administrative Court ruling to void the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the expansion of the Phase 3 Zone [Houli] of the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP), the Environmental Protection Administration's (EPA) environmental impact assessment (EIA) committee yesterday gave conditional approval for the project to go ahead.

It is no surprise that the EPA once more ignored due process and did exactly what Premier Wu Den-yih wanted them to do. Legally, the EPA's EIA committee were required to to send the Phase-3 development project to a second round of review. But with EPA Minister Stephen Shen at the helm of yesterday's proceedings, the EIA committee wasn't going to do anything other than agree with their boss; even if that decision was of extremely dubious legality.

So yesterday marked another very sad day in the rule of law under the Ma regime. Ma and his cabinet seem to care little for legal niceties, displaced farmers and rural communities, fishers, pink dolphins, and reducing the nation's CO2 emissions. It's all about growth you see. About ensuring their cronies in the petrochemical industry get exactly what they want so they can grow richer at the expense of the nation, its health and sustainably managing its natural resources. Surely there are less toxic ways to create jobs?

But wait, you say. The approval was conditional. The EPA didn't give the developers the green light to do exactly what they want. There were requirements regulating water usage, ambient water quality and emission of volatile organic compounds. Sadly, the EPA doesn't have a very good track record there. Perhaps a little tap on the wrist and a little fine like they have done with Formosa Plastics with its fires and excessive water usage.

For more see Science park development gets conditional approval in today's Taipei Times.


Also see:
Academics against new Kuokuang plant

Government quick to defend Formosa Plastics in the wake of a second fire

Formosa Plastics on fire again

Taiwan High Administrative Court orders Central Taiwan Science Park to halt all expansion pending a ruling on two lawsuits

The saga of the CTSP Erlin Science Park and the Kuokuang Petrochemical Project

Wu the Kuokuang Petrochemical executive continues to forget he's the Nation's Premier

EPA and NSC appeal High Administrative Court order

Erosion of democracy and freedom Beijing style

Local residents block access to FPG plant

Local residents continue to block access to FPG plant

Plans to buy another 800 hectares of wetlands to save pink dolphin habitat and to protect threatened birds and marine life

Isn’t It Time the Legal Community Spoke Up?

Photos: EPA gives Phase 3 CTSP the nod even if the courts say no.

Taiwan's rubber stamp EPA