ENVIRONMENTAL CLASH: Chan Shun-kuei tried to resign last year because he disliked William Lai’s actions as Tainan mayor, but this time it was due to the lack of policy talks
Taipei Times
Date: Oct 09, 2018
By: Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter
Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) Deputy Minister Chan Shun-kuei (詹順貴)
resigned yesterday, saying he refused to cave in to pressure from Premier William Lai (賴清德) to sway the agency’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) system.
Chan was a noted environmental attorney prior to being asked to join the Cabinet by then-premier Lin Chuan (林全) after President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration took office in May 2016 .
Chan first tendered his resignation after Lin stepped down and was replaced by Lai in September last year, citing what he said was Lai’s frequent defiance of democratic principles during his time as Tainan mayor, but was persuaded by Tsai to stay.
Amending the Air Pollution Control Act (空氣污染防制法) and the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (環境影響評估法) were the primary reasons he agreed to join the Cabinet, Chan wrote on Facebook yesterday morning. [FULL STORY]