Wu orders FPG to cease Yunlin operations

Wu also instructed that medical checkups be given to residents of the vicinity of the FPG plant to see if their health has been affected by the July 25 fire that resulted in serious air pollution and huge losses to the area's agricultural and fishery industries.

Agricultural and fishery losses will be fully compensated according to the county government's assessments, he said.

The FPG must provide a report on the cause of the fire within a week, plus plans to improve the safety of the housing complex at the fire-hit plant in Mailiao Township, Wu said.

The report will be examined by the Yunlin County government head together with the Council of Labor Affairs, he added.

The premier gave the instructions after inspecting the scene at FPG's sixth naphtha cracker complex.

The FPG had yet to respond to Wu's decisions as of press time, but earlier yesterday the group apologized again to Mailiao residents.

It said if the fire is proved to be the cause of the agricultural and fishery losses, the FPG will shoulder the responsibility.

Angry protesters, led by Yunlin Magistrate Su Chi-fen, staged a protest in Taipei Thursday, kneeling down outside the Cabinet building to demand the central government take steps to punish the FPG.

The July 25 blaze was the second in a month to hit the FPG complex in Mailiao. The cause of latest fire has yet to be determined.

The Yunlin magistrate demanded that the government set up an independent committee to probe the blaze.

Local residents are also protesting the FPG's planned expansion project at the Mailiao complex, a plan which is currently undergoing an environmental impact assessment by the government.

But President Ma Ying-jeou yesterday called for close collaboration between the central and Yunlin governments to handle the aftermath of a fire, instead of confronting each other.

“We hope everybody will follow the spirit of division of labor and cooperation to resolve the problem soon,” Ma said while receiving a delegation led by Chinese National Federation of Industries Chairman Preston Chen.

The president reiterated the government stance in support of a balance between economic development and environmental protection.

Ma explained that the government is obliged by the Basic Environment Act to give priority to protecting the environment if any economic development project may cause severe harm to the environment.

The president said his administration will hold full discussions with the industrial sector in an effort to formulate a new industrial policy that best suits Taiwan and strikes a balance between economic development and environmental protection.

Although the Yunlin magistrate succeeded in forcing the central government to take action, critics claimed her protest Thursday was more of a political gimmick to win support for herself.

Legislator Lin Hung-chi, a whip of the ruling Kuomintang caucus, questioned why Su had failed to exercise her authority to crack down on the repeat offender under her jurisdiction.

The county government has the authority to inspect or suspend any factory's operation out of safety and environmental concerns instead of “creating panic in the public to make personal political gains.”

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