A look back at 5 scandals surrounding the Formosa Ha Tinh mega-project.

(Baonghean.vn) - Having been in Vietnam for 10 years, but only in the last two years, Formosa Ha Tinh has repeatedly caused scandals and controversies, sparking public outrage.

Inside the project are residential areas that resemble a city.

Founded in 1954, Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) is one of Asia's largest diversified plastics manufacturers, headquartered in Taiwan.

In Vietnam, Formosa's most prominent project is the Son Duong iron and steel complex and port (Formosa Ha Tinh). Formosa Ha Tinh is owned by nine shareholders, seven of whom are subsidiaries of Formosa Group, holding nearly 95% of the shares.

However, since its commencement, Formosa has been involved in numerous controversies, such as illegal construction, scaffolding collapses, and most recently, the alleged dumping of waste into the sea.

Let's review some of the "scandals" that Formosa has been involved in in Vietnam.

1. Over 3,000 Chinese laborers are working illegally in Vung Ang, Ha Tinh.

As of November 2014, there were over 3,000 undocumented workers in Vung Ang.

As of October 11, 2014, there were 37,511 workers employed in the Vung Ang Economic Zone. Of these, 31,594 were domestic workers and 5,917 were foreign workers.

The number of workers currently employed at the Formosa project is 30,505, including 5,615 foreigners. Specifically, 4,154 Chinese workers are employed at the Formosa project site, while 114 work outside of Formosa.

Currently, the Formosa project has 92 contractors, including 36 main contractors and 56 subcontractors (15 from China, 12 from Taiwan, 21 from South Korea, 43 from Vietnam, and 1 from Belgium).

The total demand for foreign workers in Vung Ang is 11,006, including 357 workers from 13 businesses and 10,463 workers from 30 contractors.

The People's Committee of Ha Tinh province has approved the recruitment of 10,820 foreign workers, with 10,649 needed for just 29 bidding packages. The largest number are technical workers with 8,124 people, followed by experts with 554 people, and managers and executives with 1,869 people.

Formosa and its subcontractors were slow to complete the necessary legal procedures to submit to the Ha Tinh authorities for licensing. As a result, at that time, the Vung Ang Economic Zone had 6,121 foreign workers but only 3,261 permits had been issued. Of those, only 1,400 out of 4,154 Chinese workers were granted permits, reaching only 36%.

2. Scaffold collapses in Ha Tinh.

A scaffolding collapse killed 13 people and injured 29.

At 8 PM on March 25, 2015, scaffolding for casting concrete for a caisson at the Son Duong Port gravity caisson installation project in the Formosa Industrial Park (Vung Ang Economic Zone, Ky Anh town, Ha Tinh province) collapsed, killing 13 people and injuring 29. The contractor was Samsung Group, South Korea.

This is the most serious workplace accident to occur in Ha Tinh in recent years.

A representative from Formosa stated at the time that the bidding process for the construction of the breakwater at Son Duong seaport involved strict technical criteria, and Samsung Group won the bid because their bid met the criteria set by Formosa. Formosa acted within its responsibilities, regularly inspecting and supervising the contractor's work.

Samsung Group has taken primary responsibility.

On December 21, 2015, the Ha Tinh Provincial People's Court sentenced defendant Kim Jong Wook to 3 years and 6 months in prison, defendants Lee Jea Myeong and Nguyen Anh Tuan each to 3 years, and Nguyen Thai Duc to 30 months, all for violating regulations on labor safety.

3. Constructing an illegal shrine.

Building a shrine without permission from the authorities.

In June 2014, Formosa Ha Tinh Company submitted a request to construct a shrine to commemorate the deceased whose graves were lost within the Formosa project area, in order to provide some spiritual solace to the local people and employees of the factory.

Immediately afterwards, public opinion strongly condemned Formosa's proposal.

On July 11, 2014, the Standing Committee of the Ha Tinh Provincial Party Committee issued Notice No. 510-TB/TU stating that it did not agree with the proposal to build a shrine within the Formosa project.

However, FHS Company still proceeded with the construction of the shrine within the project and has completed the rough construction.

In early March 2016, Formosa again sent a letter inviting the Buddhist Association of Ha Tinh to preside over the construction of a place of worship and spiritual activities at the company.

After receiving a request from the Buddhist Association of Ha Tinh, the People's Committee of Ha Tinh province sent a document to relevant departments, the Ha Tinh Economic Zone Management Board, the People's Committee of Ky Anh town, etc., to consider and advise on how to handle the matter.

Formosa Ha Tinh's 32-meter-tall "spiritual symbol tower," intended for promotional purposes, has been halted by the provincial Department of Construction due to the lack of a construction permit.

4. Building a spiritual tower without permission.

At the end of 2015, the Ha Tinh Department of Construction issued a report requesting Formosa Hung Nghiep Steel Company Limited to temporarily suspend the construction of the "spiritual symbol tower" in front of the company's main gate in Ky Lien ward (Ky Anh town, Ha Tinh province).

The tower was built at the Formosa intersection gate, Ky Lien ward (Vung Ang Economic Zone, Ky Anh town, Ha Tinh province).

The tower, designed to be 32 meters high and with one floor, began construction in October with a total investment of approximately 6 billion VND. The investor is Formosa Company, a company headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, which is also the construction contractor.

5. Suspicions arise that Formosa is causing massive fish deaths in the central coastal region.

Massive fish deaths have occurred in coastal provinces of central Vietnam.

Although there has been no official conclusion regarding the cause of the mass fish deaths in Ha Tinh in recent days, many residents and some scientists suspect the wastewater discharge system of the Formosa project in the Vung Ang Economic Zone (Ky Anh town, Ha Tinh).

Previously, a mass fish kill occurred in the Vung Ang Economic Zone. The estimated number of dead fish reached tens of tons.

Shortly afterward, several divers reported seeing a large underwater pipeline system connecting the Formosa project to the sea.

According to fishermen's descriptions, the pipe, approximately 1.5 km long and over one meter in diameter, was buried shallowly on the seabed, covered with rocks and sandbags. Water gushed out of the pipe with great force, was murky yellow in color, and had a foul, suffocating odor.

Despite acknowledging the existence of a wastewater discharge system into the sea, Formosa's leaders have denied that the fish deaths were caused by the Formosa wastewater pipeline.

A representative from the company stated: "Around the wastewater discharge canal system, we raise fish to test water quality. In fact, the fish in our canal are still alive. If it were due to wastewater discharge, the fish here would have died before the fish in the sea. Therefore, the company is confident that it has not done anything to affect the Vietnamese marine environment."

Pham Bang

(synthetic)