Only 13% of Taiwan's 188 active mines undergo environmental impact assessments; environmental groups: the Asia Cement case cannot be quietly set aside

The controversy over the Asia Cement extension case continues to escalate. Premier Lin Chuan explained on the 13th that the Ministry of Economic Affairs had been asked to re-examine the Asia Cement case within one week and explain it publicly; if there was any illegality, it would be sent for punishment; if the review found it lawful but the public remained dissatisfied, the case would be referred to the Control Yuan for investigation. But environmental groups were not buying it, arguing that the Executive Yuan not only ignored the consultation and consent procedure under Article 21 of the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law, but also repeatedly exempted Asia Cement from the obligation to undergo environmental impact assessment, and directly accused the Executive Yuan of "taking the lead in breaking the law and ignoring rule-of-law procedures."

Asia Cement began evading environmental impact assessment as early as 1997, and has now had its term extended by another 20 years

Hsieh Meng-yu, secretary-general of the Taiwan Wild at Heart Ecological Association, pointed out that as early as 1997, when Asia Cement applied for its second extension, the Taiwan Provincial Government required it to conduct an environmental impact assessment on the grounds that "the Asia Cement mining area is located on an Indigenous reserved land"; but at the time the Environmental Protection Administration held that as long as Asia Cement did not expand its land use, an "old mine" could obtain an extension without an environmental impact assessment, overturning the Taiwan Provincial Government's resolution.

Afterward, Asia Cement mined cement for another 20 years; by 2017, Asia Cement once again faced the major hurdle of applying for an extension, and at this time, domestic amendments to the Mining Act, policy environmental impact assessments and other cases were also imminent. But the Executive Yuan's Ministry of Economic Affairs chose March 14 of this year, on the eve of amendments to the Mining Act and its environmental impact assessment sub-laws, to swiftly grant Asia Cement a 20-year mining rights extension in 3.5 months, allowing it to continue obtaining extensions while "exempt from environmental impact assessment," "exempt from notification," and "exempt from consent."

Asia Cement says it loves Taiwan and will shrink the mining area by 40%; environmental groups: deceitful and utterly insincere, calling on the public to take to the streets on 625 to protest