June 30, 2016
No. 150
The ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs has instructed its representative office in Vietnam to mediate between the Vietnamese government and Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp., a subsidiary of Formosa Plastics Group, regarding allegations of environmental damage.
The Vietnamese government issued a report June 30 asserting that toxic effluence released during a test production run by the company had caused the damage. The representative office has maintained close contact with the two parties so as to keep abreast of the issue and help them reach consensus on resolving the dispute as soon as possible.
As environmental protection is vital to sustainable and balanced economic development, the ROC government attaches great importance to such issues. MOFA calls on Taiwanese businesses operating abroad to abide by local environmental protection laws and assume their corporate social responsibility abroad in order to further enhance Taiwan’s good reputation and strengthen foreign relations.
As this is an isolated incident, MOFA will continue to encourage Hanoi to provide Taiwanese businesses up-to-date investment information and offer companies with similar cases in the future a sound appeal and remedy process. MOFA also hopes that the Vietnamese government will fully protect the legal rights, personal safety, and property of Taiwanese investors, so as to boost investor confidence. (E)