Protesters demand revocation of the extension to a controversial mine and revision of the current mining law.

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/25
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Angered by the 20-year mining rights extension awarded by the Taiwanese government to Asia Cement Corporation (ACC，亞泥) in Taroko National Park in Hualien, environmental groups took to the streets to protest against the government in front of the Executive Yuan, reports said Sunday afternoon.

Environmental groups said that there were about 5,000 people on site. Protesters set smoke bombs on the street, mimicking the smoke produced by explosions in the mine.

Far Eastern Groups (遠東集團), which owns ACC, has been mining in Taroko for four decades without permission of local residents and an environmental impact assessment (EIA), said Tsai Chung-yueh (蔡中岳), consultant at the Citizens of the Earth (地球公民基金會), adding that an extension of another 20 years of the mining rights is unacceptable.

The environmental groups are demanding that the extension be revoked and the current mining law revised.    [FULL  STORY]