Mining Leaves High Mountains Barren: Environmental Groups Call for a Comprehensive Overhaul of the Mining Act

Newly appointed Environmental Protection Administration chief Lee Ying-yuan recently proposed demanding that Asia Cement withdraw from Taroko National Park next year. Although legislators Lin Shu-fen and Kao Lu‧Iyung‧Pacidal, along with many civic environmental groups, expressed approval, groups including the Citizen of the Earth Foundation, the Wild at Heart Ecological Association, and the Taiwan Roots Association believe the government should not stop there. They argue it must comprehensively review mining policy and relevant provisions, especially since the Mining Act was amended in 2003 during the old Democratic Progressive Party administration and tilted sharply toward industry operators, leaving the national territory severely fragmented. The current DPP government should re-examine it.