Activists demand Formosa Plastics Group shut steel unit in Vietnam

Formosa Chemicals and Fibre

10/08/2016 08:06

TAIPEI, Aug 10 (Reuters) - About 100 activists protested in 
front of Formosa Plastics Group's headquarters in Taipei on 
Wednesday demanding it shut its steel project in Vietnam and 
urged Hanoi to prosecute the Taiwanese firm for environmental 
damage. 
    "Formosa: out of Vietnam", "We want the truth", chatted the 
protesters, most of whom were Vietnamese. 
    The Vietnamese government said in June that the $10.6 
billion steel project allowed toxic waste to enter the sea in 
one of Vietnam's biggest environmental disasters.  
    Formosa, one of the communist country's biggest investors, 
has pledged $500 million in damages and admitted its steel plant 
caused massive fish deaths along a 200 km (124 mile) stretch of 
coastline in April.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N19M3SB.     
    "The secretive 'settlement' announced by the Hanoi 
government and Formosa on June 30 underscores the lack of 
transparency in the handling of the environmental disaster," 
said activist Duy Hoang. 
    "Formosa is not the only party in this incident. The 
Vietnamese authorities need to demonstrate greater transparency 
and release its investigative report," he said. 
    The disaster unleashed months of public anger on social 
media and on the streets of big Vietnamese cities. 
    Vietnamese environmental authorities said in July that they 
were working with local officials in the Ha Tinh province to 
investigate dry waste, belonging to the steel unit, that was 
found dumped on a residential farm.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1A12BG 
    Formosa is one of Taiwan's biggest conglomerates. Its listed 
units included Formosa Plastics Corp  1301.TW  and Formosa 
Chemicals & Fiber Corp  1326.TW . 
 
 (Reporting by Faith Hung; Editing by Michael Perry) 
 ((faith.hung@thomsonreuters.com; 8862 2500 4893; Reuters 
Messaging: faith.hung.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: FORMOSA PROTEST/