environment

Pollution Traced to Petrochemical Plant

environmental protection officers inspect a stream in miaoli county
Environment 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Pollution that resulted in a Miaoli County stream turning a milky-white color was traced to a Petrochemical plant in an industrial area today. The EPA have opened legal proceedings against the company responsible. Miaoli County Government Environmental Protection Bureau officers traced the source of the pollution after complaints by local residents who said that the stream changed color on a daily basis. Sometimes the water turns red, sometimes blue, and the last few days, milky white. EPB officers inspected plants

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Taiwan Tightens Net on Protected Fish Species: Imports Intercepted

Frozen humphead wrasse intercepted trying to enter Taiwan
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Customs officials yesterday found protected species in a shipment of frozen fish imported from Indonesia. The shipment had been declared to contain blackspot tuskfish (Choerodon schoenleinii), also known as green wrasse, ‘and other parrot fish’. When inspected, the shipment was found to include 23 green humphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum), with a total weight of 80kg. The species is protected under Taiwan’s wildlife protection laws, and is banned from export or import. When told the shipment violated the law, a representative

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Vietnam Marine Environmental Disaster a Threat to Taiwan’s New South Policy

the greiving wife of a fishing vessel's captain who was killed by a naval missile strike
Business and Economy Environment 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Democratic People’s Party legislator Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) today urged the government of Taiwan to confront the issue of the massive fish-kill in Vietnam that the Vietnamese people are blaming on pollution from a steel mill in Ha Tinh Province controlled by Formosa Plastics Group. Su also called on the Taiwanese industrial giant, and other Taiwanese corporations investing in the region to show corporate responsibility, including respect for the environment and human rights. Su, who represents constituents in Yunlin County pointed

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Vietnam Activists Call for Protests over Fishkill: Obama Petitioned

Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan speaks during a press briefing over an environmental crisis concerning mass fish deaths in central Vietnam on April 27, 2016.
Environment 
Phillip Charlier 4 Comments , , ,

Environmental and social activists in Vietnam are calling for protests May 1 after a massive fish-kill, and the government’s failure to act against industrial giant Formosa Plastics Group. While the Vietnam government claimed Wednesday that they have no proof the environmental disaster was linked to the Formosa Group’s steel mill in Ha Tinh Province, they have called for the company to dig up an illegal pipeline that citizens believe discharged toxic chemicals into the ocean. The government has also sent

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Three Dead Dolphins Washed Up on Taiwan’s East Coast

Dolphins washed up on a beach on the East coast of Taiwan in 2016
Environment 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Three dead dolphins were found washed up on the shore near Fengbin Township in Hualian County yesterday, April 18, 2016. Coast Guard personnel brought the carcasses onto the beach and contacted the Taiwan Cetacean Society, who dissected the animals took samples back to their lab to attempt to identify the cause of the deaths. Reporters asked whether recent earthquake activity may be a contributing factor, but the marine biologists were not willing to speculate. Coast Guard personnel helped bury the

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Taiwan East Coast Rocks! 100kg Intercepted at Airport

The Three Immortals in Taitung (Taidong) County, Taiwan
Environment 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Taiwan’s East Coast National Scenic Area Administration Office in Taidong (Taitung) recently received 100 kilograms of rocks in 5 boxes. The rocks were confiscated over a three-month period from Chinese tourists attempting to exit the country with the popular, free, but illegal, souvenirs. The haul included small stones, easy to slip into your pocket to very large stones, and also a bottle of sand. Customs officials pointed out that rocks, especially larger ones constitute a flight security risk, as they

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