Taiwanese Public Opinion: Formosa's Expensive Lesson
The news that Formosa caused fish deaths in central Vietnam in April and had to pay $500 million in compensation became the focus of attention in the Taiwanese press and public opinion.
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15 years of Formosa in VietnamAs the largest FDI enterprise in Vietnam, Formosa also brings scandals to the local business environment, the latest being the culprit of the mass fish deaths in the Central region.
Taiwan's CNA news agency reported the incident along with an apology from Formosa Plastics Group (the parent company of Formosa Vietnam) saying it "respects the investigation results of the Vietnamese government."
“We extend our deep and sincere apologies to the government and people of Vietnam for causing this environmental incident, which has affected the lives of fishermen,” the statement said.
CNA's report also quoted Taiwan's foreign affairs agency calling on investors to respect local laws and take social responsibility so as not to affect Taiwan's image and the territory's foreign relations.
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Dead fish on the coast of Phu Loc district, Thua Thien Hue. Photo:AFP |
The Lien Hop newspaper has a series of 3-4 articles on the incident analyzing many different angles of Formosa’s behavior. Writer Wang Maozhen wrote about the “expensive lesson” Formosa learned when it had to pay 500 million USD related to the fish deaths.
According to this writer, yesterday was a “shameful” day for Formosa Corporation as well as its chairman, Vuong Van Uyen, who had planned to start the first official steel smelting batch at Formosa on July 2.
According to the author, with Taiwan's Southbound Policy (towards enhancing cooperation with Southeast Asian countries), businesses in this country need to have an understanding of the laws and environmental protection regulations in the localities where they invest.
“I consider the price of the steel project a valuable lesson for this Southward policy,” the author wrote.
Also on the Lianying Daily, Mr. Huang Chih-fang, director of the Southbound Policy Office, affirmed that the incident would not affect Taipei's initiative to strengthen cooperation with Southeast Asia.
Formosa had planned to start the first steel batch on July 2 but was forced to postpone it after recent incidents.
Apple Daily also wrote, “Formosa Plastics’ project in Vietnam admits toxic waste and is willing to pay a fine of NT$16.1 billion (US$500 million).”
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Formosa apologizes to Vietnamese people for causing fish deaths in Central Vietnam: The head of Formosa Ha Tinh has officially admitted his mistake and apologized to the people and the Vietnamese government because they were the culprits causing the mass fish deaths in the Central region in April 2016.
Environmental Lawyers Association: "We are not surprised" Ms. Echo Lin, secretary general of the Environmental Lawyers Association (EJA), in an interview with Zing.vn in Taipei, assessed that the conclusion about Formosa's violations was not surprising as this corporation had many violations in the past. - There has been an official conclusion that Formosa's waste discharge system caused the mass fish deaths in central Vietnam. What is your comment on this final conclusion? - This is not surprising because all available evidence and the context at that time showed that Formosa was the main suspect leading to this large-scale fish death. -Your organization protested Formosa very early regarding the fish deaths. What is the basis for determining Formosa's connection to this incident? - We do not yet have a detailed analysis report on Formosa's direct relationship with the fish deaths, but based on studies on steel industry waste by Taiwanese researchers, we have come to a conclusion (about Formosa's connection). These studies indicate that waste from steel factories can cause environmental pollution and health problems. That is why we require Formosa to disclose the chemicals used in (steel) production and the chemicals in the waste. - Formosa has caused pollution in many other countries. So is there any way to prevent this behavior of multinational corporations? In poor countries, sometimes the need for development makes it more difficult for them to control or reduce pollution by large corporations like Formosa. - That's right. Formosa is notorious for causing pollution in many countries, including Taiwan, the US, Cambodia and now Vietnam. It is not easy to block large corporations like Formosa and we are trying to pressure the Taiwanese government to tighten regulations on foreign investment for Formosa. However, it would be more effective if Vietnam could impose heavy fines and penalties on Formosa. It should even be considered criminal since Formosa has declared that it complies with local laws. |
According to Zing.vn
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