Taipei Times
Date: Dec 01, 2017
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter
The Cabinet yesterday promised to present a draft amendment to the Mining Act (礦業法)
Members of an environmental coalition hold up placards that read “Revoke Asia Cement’s mining permit” at a protest in Hualien County. Photo: Wang Chun-chih, Taipei Times
next week, amid protests by environmental and Aboriginal groups over its delay.
Following the death of environmentalist and documentary filmmaker Chi Po-lin (齊柏林) in June, calls for the government to revise the act have surged.
The Cabinet in September promised to finalize and submit a draft amendment to the Legislative Yuan in October, but failed to do so.
Environmental and Aboriginal groups yesterday called a press conference condemning the delay, with the government approving a 20-year extension to Asia Cement Corp’s mining rights in Hualien County’s Sincheng Township (新城) and turning a blind eye to a local protest against the mining operation since Thursday last week. [FULL STORY]