Taiwan Formosa Finishes Compensating $500M for Vietnam Marine Life Disaster

Vietnam’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has announced that Taiwan-invested Formosa Hung Nghiep Ha Tinh Steel Corporation completed compensating $500 million for environmental disaster it caused to the sea off central coast several months ago. The recompense was transferred twice with $250 million each after the Taiwanese company agreed to compensate the amount to cover consequences it caused to both people’s livelihood and environment in four Vietnamese central coastal provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien-Hue, Minister Tran Hong Ha told state media on Aug 30. The Ministry of Finance will allocate the money to the four affecting localities for three times within 45 days after the local authorities report data on damage to the ministry prior to Sept 15. Formosa admitted to release hundreds tons of untreated toxic waste into the sea, causing massive fish death along hundreds kilometers of the coastline in the four provinces, stopping the onshore and offshore catching of local residents, leaving many of them in misery with the state’s month allowance. Meanwhile, almost all lodging facilities and tourist companies halt business due to the poisoning of the sea. A number of scientists, environmentalists, intellectuals, experts, and dissidents raised concerns about the long-term environmental consequences and trivial compensation, saying that the money neither helps cover part of short-term consequences nor send stern warning to other foreign-invested enterprises. In speeches delivered at many meetings or in direct talks to constituents, both Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc affirmed to strictly punish people who involve in the Formosa case and to shut down the company if recurrences made. The Formosa steel complex project costing roughly $10 billion was licensed under the governance of former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. (VnEconomy.vn Aug 30)