Kaohsiung magistrate sues environmental campaigners

Yang, who is running as an independent for mayor of Kaohsiung municipality, said at a press conference that the E-Da World development project near I-Shou University in Kaohsiung County is completely legal and compliant with government regulations.

Yang said that waste water from the project site is not being channeled into the Gaoping River, a major source of drinking water for residents of greater Kaohsiung, as the activists have claimed.

The Kaohsiung county government is monitoring the disposal of water from the project, he said.

The sprawling E-Da World project comprises two hotels, an amusement theme park, a residential complex and a shopping mall.

The Kaohsiung County government granted licenses to E-Da World only after the Ministryof Transportation and Communications authorized an alteration to the development plan in May 2009 and approved the environmental impact assessment in December that year, Yang said.

The Taiwan Water Resources Conservation Alliance accused Yang on Aug. 20 of covering up for E-Da World, which the alliance alleged has released massive volumes of waste water into the Gaoping River, polluting Kaohsiung's drinking water supply.

“I would not exclude the possibility that certain people have orchestrated this defamatory accusation because the election is approaching,” said Yang,who quit the opposition Democratic Progressive Party to run as an independent after he lost the party primary.

After the news conference, Yang's lawyer, Chen Miao-chuan, filed a defamation suit against Chen Shu-hua, a spokeswoman for the alliance; Lin Li-tsai, secretary-general of the Taiwan 228 Care Association; and several other people.

Chen Shu-hua said the alliance challenged Yang and the Kaohsiung county government after volunteers from the group received complaints from Kaohsiung residents and went to the site to see for themselves where the waste water was being discharged.

The volunteers visited the site four times between Aug. 6 and Aug. 14, she said.

Yang should apologize and “if he doesn't, we will sue him for defamation,” she said.

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