Shen's latest EPA green gimmick

The second fire at Formosa Plastics plant in Mailiao: Photo courtesy of MFCU.


Under the 'Environment' heading in the Quick Take section of today's Taipei Times is a brief titled Government promotes green. It tells how Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) Minister Stephen Shen and his EPA plan to "encourage private companies and local residents to develop green industries and combat global warming and resource degradation." Shen went on to explain how they plan to "promote the birth of 50 low-carbon communities around Taiwan over the next two years, six low-carbon cities within five years and four low-carbon living regions with 10 years." This all sounds very good. It has an almost noble quality about it. But yet Shen and his EPA have given the nod to massive petrochemical development with the various expansions of the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP). Unless the EPA incorporates such 'green' plans into a massive crack down on and clean up of the petrochemical industry in Taiwan these 'green' plans are nothing but green gimmicks. When the EPA starts to abide by the Supreme Court rulings that they ignore on the CTSP expansions. When the EPA really goes after Formosa Plastics for its disgraceful environmental record and puts those responsible for incidents such as the three recent fires at Formosa Plastics and its affiliates behind bars then and only then will such green projects have any meaning other than the EPA pretending to be green.

Taiwan EPA Minister Stephen Shu-hung Shen. His profile shows he has a Ph.D. in chemical engineering. Photo:-Taiwan EPA.


From Taipei Times Quick Take:

Government promotes green

Taiwan is working to foster an environment that will encourage private companies and local residents to develop green industries and combat global warming and resource degradation, Environmental Protection Administration Minister Stephen Shen (沈世宏) said. The centerpiece of the government’s plan, Shen said, was to promote the birth of 50 low-carbon communities around Taiwan over the next two years, six low-carbon cities within five years and four low-carbon living regions with 10 years. To achieve these goals, the government will push companies and banks devoted to ecological conservation to open offices in “low-carbon special zones,” in which electric vehicles will serve as the main means of transport, Shen said, adding that the government also planned to make the agricultural sector more environmentally friendly and turn incinerators into biomass energy production centers.

Also see:
Yet another FPG related fire

Formosa Plastics on fire again

Government quick to defend Formosa Plastics in the wake of a second fire

Opposition pressures Government in wake of the second Formosa fire

Taiwan High Administrative Court orders Central Taiwan Science Park to halt all expansion pending a ruling on two lawsuits

Candidates - No fallout from Formosa fire in Sinbei elections

Academics against new Kuokuang plant

Local residents block access to FPG plant

Local residents continue to block access to FPG plant

Government defies the courts with the President's blessing

Isn’t It Time the Legal Community Spoke Up?

Science park development at Houli gets the nod

Wu going soft on Formosa?

Taiwan's rubber stamp EPA