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FPG donation to be used for agricultural fairs: Yunlin County

Zoom  Zoom Issue Date:2011-08-19   Source:internet   Browse:735

Taipei, Aug. 18 (CNA) Amid criticism for taking NT$1 billion (US$34.6 million) from accident-prone Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) in July, Yunlin County explained Thursday that a portion of the contribution will be used to organize an agricultural fair as part of the county's effort to develop sustainable agriculture.

 

The county Deputy Magistrate Lin Yuan-chuan showed the still-in-progress blueprint of the Huwei park for the agriculture fair and said the local government will also arrange exhibitions in each of the 20 townships in Yunlin.

 

The county hopes to organize the 2013 farm produce fair based on environmentally-friendly concepts and make the event the start of the county's effort in creating a sustainable and healthy future, according to Lin.

 

Lin said the county would like to show that "agriculture is the smart way of living that produces the lowest carbon emissions footprint."

 

He said that the land subsidence along the high-speed rail and the safety issues of the petrochemical complex, whose accidents have annoyed the neighboring residents, should prompt the county to think again about the fairness of water resource allocation, land ethics, the health of its residents and the balanced development of industries.

 

Lin said that the fair is scheduled to open in November 2013 and will run for three to five months. The main exhibition center will be built on the land that was originally set aside to house the high speed rail's Huwei Station.

 

Other exhibition centers will be held in Kouhu, Dounan, Douliou, Silou and Taisi.

 

The county said earlier this month that part of the donation will be used to build a puppetry cultural center, which will replace the main exhibition center after the fair closes.

 

Lin said the county was partly forced to show the incomplete blueprint because of accusations that the donation was meant to sway the county government from its duties of monitoring industrial safety at FPG's accident-plagued complex in Mailiao.

 

Lin said Wednesday that the money is for developing a low-carbon agricultural industry, an initiative that should not be confused with the compensation of residents close to the complex.

 

He said the designated purposes of the donation cannot be changed, but allocations of the fund will be transparent.

 

The petrochemical complex, owned by the Formosa Plastics Group (FPG), had suffered a string of seven fires over the past year, prompting the local government in June to order a shutdown of all the plants that have suffered fires at FPG's Mailiao complex.

 

The county further ordered the company to suspend operations at the remaining production facilities in the compound in stages for safety inspections.

 

Earlier this week, county Magistrate Su Chih-fen even proposed to have all FPG's facilities move out of the county and give the land back to its original use.

 

But the NT$1 billion donation has drawn criticism from both the county councilors and the residents, although the county, in its defense, said the money was part of a goodwill fund that was started years ago by FPG.

 

Residents of several villages close to the complex protested in front of the county office Wednesday and said that the cash contribution should be used on projects that would be beneficial to them as compensation for the pollution to their living environment.

 

 
 
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