Taipei Times
Date: Oct 15, 2016
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter
The Executive Yuan should overrule the Ministry of Economic Affairs and force a policy-oriented
A coalition of environmental groups including Citizens of the Earth and residents of Hsinchu County’s Guanxi Township and eastern Taiwan yesterday rally outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei to urge the government to reform regulations on mining to better protect the environment. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
environmental review of the nation’s mining and concrete industry, residents of rural communities said yesterday at a protest in front of the Executive Yuan in Taipei.
More than 50 protesters mobilized by Citizens of the Earth gathered in front of the Executive Yuan, waving banners accusing the government of acting as a “stooge” to corporate “tigers” and calling for a comprehensive environmental review of the industry as part of broader reforms.
“Under the current system, the state of the mining and concrete industry is unclear, including environmental costs and risks,” Citizens of the Earth researcher Pan Cheng-cheng (潘正正) said, adding that only 15 percent of Taiwan’s mines have ever been subject to an administrative review, because they were licensed prior to the implementation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (環境影響評估法) in 1995.
She was critical of the ministry’s rejection of Environment Protection Administration calls for a policy-oriented environmental review of the nation’s mining industry, raising the prospect of the initiative being halted. [FULL STORY]
