Taipei Times
Date: Jun 28, 2017
By: Kuo Chia-erh / Staff reporter
In response to mounting criticism over a controversial extension of mining rights, Asia Cement Corp (亞
Far Eastern Group chairman Douglas Hsu, right, acknowledges an employee at Asia Cement Corp’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA
泥) yesterday defended its mining operations in Taroko National Park, saying that it would conduct an environmental impact assessment if necessary.
“We began mining in the area before the national park was established [in 1986],” Douglas Hsu (徐旭東), chairman of Far Eastern Group (遠東集團), the cement maker’s parent company, said at Asia Cement’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taipei.
Asia Cement has operated in Hualien County’s Sincheng Township (新城) for 60 years, including a quarry with 25 hectares overlapping land in the park, company data show.
Asked if the Sincheng site would undergo an environmental impact assessment, Hsu said the firm would comply with new regulations, referring to possible amendments to the Mining Act (礦業法). [FULL STORY]
