Kuo Kuang Petrochemical Plant Relocation Should be Swift

Kuo Kuang Petrochemical Plant Relocation Should be Swift
China Times editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
April 20, 2011

The Kuo Kuang Petrochemical Plant project is about to undergo its fifth EIA review. Environmental groups have announced anti-Kuo Kuang protest marches all over the island. Environmental groups are making a great show of opposing the Kuo Kuang Petrochemical Plant project. This is reminiscent of similar scenes during the Chen administration. This time however, it is the Ma administration that must deal with the problem. The Kuo Kuang Petrochemical Plant reflects problems with Taiwan's industrial rise and transformation. These problems require solutions. Taiwan has limited land and limited resources. It is caught between demands for environmental protection and economic development. The questions it must answer are multiple choice questions, not yes or no questions. Assuming it still has a choice, the Ma administration must be decisive. It must seek the best solution. If it must relocate then it must act boldly. It should not allow the matter to drag on, and degenerate into a insoluble political controversy.

The petrochemical industry is a key industry. Many developing economies depend upon their governments to vigorously promote the petrochemical industry. And so it is on Taiwan, The petrochemical industry has brought a great deal of foreign exchange into Taiwan's economy. It has made a substantial contribution to economic growth. But environmental consciousness has increased. The petrochemical industry is water hungry, highly polluting, and socially divisive. According to EPA statistics, during the two decades between 1981 and 2002, 60 percent of the major environmental protests on Taiwan involved the petrochemical industry. Environmental disputes have continued. Most people acknowledge the petrochemical industry's role in economic development. But they do not want petrochemical plants in their own backyard. The Formosa Plastics Group's Sixth Naphtha Cracking Plant project in Ilan met with resistance. At one time it was to be relocated to Mainland China. Under intense pressure from then President Lee Teng-hui, it was relocated to Yunlin. Since then, further development of the petrochemical industry on Taiwan has been difficult.

The petrochemical industry has made enormous contributions to the national economy. But as early as 1978, Premier Sun Yun-suan adopted World Bank economist Bela Balassa's recommendation that "non-oil producing countries develop technology-intensive industries, and not the petrochemical industry." As a result, plans for the Petrochemical Plant Number Five were shelved. A decision was made to transition gradually to lower energy consumption and technology-intensive industries. This led to the development of the Hsinchu Science Park.

In 1981, the global oil crisis ended. The CEPD reconsidered its plan for the petrochemical industry. It decided to resume development of the petrochemical industry. During the 1990s, the government continued its political liberalization. Environmental protests made development of the petrochemical industry difficult. The government was unwilling to give up. But Mainland China and the Southeast Asian countries long ago replaced Taiwan as a source of cheap labor. Profits from petrochemical exports fell. The unavoidable question was did we really need to pay such a high political, social, and environmental price for the petrochemical industry?

During the Chen administration, the government accepted the argument that we still need a petrochemical industry. It finalized plans for the Kuo Kuang Petrochemical Plant project. Environmental groups resisted full force. EIA members attempted to block the project, but to no avail. Then Vice Premier Tsai Ing-wen personally championed the project, making telephone calls "expressing concern." For these policy decisions, then Premier and DPP presidential primary candidate Su Tseng-chang was forced to issue a public apology. But when Su and Tsai simultaneously signed the anti-Kuo Kuang Petrochemical Plant petition, the Kuo Kuang Petrochemical Plant project inevitably became a political football.

Based on the need for industry clusters, Yunlin was the first choice. The public in Yunlin had already accepted the Sixth Naptha Cracking Plant. But they did not want the Kuo Kuang Petrochemical Plant in addition. Changhua, adjacent to Yunlin, vigorously fought for the plant. When the decision was made to build the Kuo Kuang Petrochemical Plant in Changhua, the government hardly expected so much pressure from environmental groups. Last year, the Changhua County Environmental Protection Union won the Executive Yuan Sustainable Development Award. This group is explicitly opposed to the Kuo Kuang Petrochemical Plant. But environmental groups are not the only ones opposed. Even Public Works Commissioner Lee Hong-yuan, a new member of Premier Wu's cabinet, signed the anti-Kuo Kuang Petrochemical Plant petition. His reasoning was simple. Changhua and Yunlin both have serious problems with ground subsidence. They are not suitable for further petrochemical industry development.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs attempted to resolve the environmental disputes. It stressed that the strictest environmental standards had been met. The survival of dolphins was not threatened, because a migratory corridor had been provided. But the fact that the dolphins must use the migratory corridor means they have already been affected. The Ministry of Economic Affairs stressed also that old petrochemical plants must be phased out. If the Kuo Kuang Petrochemical Plant is not constructed, then the old plants cannot be decommissioned. The old plants would have an even greater impact on the environment. But the Kuo Kuang Petrochemical Plant will also become old some day. Ten years down the road, will Taiwan face another Kuo Kuang Petrochemical Plant style controversy?

Thirty years ago, Sun Yun-suan saw the need for industrial transformation. Thirty years later, we once again face a difficult choice. Do we have a premier with Sun's boldness and vision, able to make critical decisions about Taiwan's industrial development? President Ma Ying-jeou personally stood on the front lines when he attended an anti-Kuo Kuang Petrochemical Plant banquet. The event was subject to political manipulation, making deeper understanding of grassroots environmental concerns impossible. But President Ma personally visited the Ta-Chen wetlands and sampled the oysters. Surely he realizes that ordinary citizens at the grassroots level depend on nature for their livelihood. The Chen administration considered relocating the plant when it was in office. The Ma administration should consider relocating the petrochemical industry. Do not destroy the beautiful environment that Mother Nature has bestowed upon Taiwan.

國光石化若須外移 即應當機立斷
2011-04-20 中國時報

國光石化案即將舉行第五次專案小組環評審查，環保團體也預告將發動全台反國光遊行。環保團體大動作反國光石化，讓人想起扁政府執政時期的場景，只是，這一回應付難題的是馬政府。國光石化案反應了台灣產業升級與轉型的困境，但是，碰到問題只能解決問題，台灣土地有限、資源有限，在環保與經濟發展之間，只能是選擇題而非是非題。如果還有選擇，馬政府應當斷則斷，找出最適當方案，如果外移是必要的選項，那就大膽施為，不要讓爭議拖延成無解的政治紛爭。

石化產業具有高度產業關連性，許多發展中國家都透過政府政策主導，大力推動石化業，台灣亦復如是，石化業也為台灣經濟帶來大量外匯，對經濟成長有實質貢獻。但是，環保意識抬頭之後，此一高耗水、高汙染產業，也成為社會之痛，根據環保署的統計，從一九八一年到二○○二年的廿多年之間，台灣重大環保抗爭中，與石化業相關者就佔了將近六成，公害糾紛也不斷，多數民眾認可石化業對經濟發展的必要，卻不認同石化廠在我家後院。當初，台塑六輕在宜蘭建廠不順，一度要移轉大陸海滄，前總統李登輝大力施壓之下，改在雲林。自此之後，台灣再要發展石化業即困難重重。

即使石化業對國家經濟產值貢獻巨大，但早在一九七八年，故行政院長孫運璿任內，即接受世界銀行經濟學家巴拉薩（Balassa）的建議，認為「非產油國家應發展技術密集工業，不宜發展石化業」，一度擱置五輕廠的計畫。這項政策的決定使得台灣工業逐漸轉向能源消耗較低與技術密集的工業，並促成了新竹科學園區的開發。

一九八○年代，全球石油危機解除，經建會才重新評估石化工業的發展，讓石化工業再次成為發展目標。直到一九九○年代政治開放後，環保抗爭運動又讓石化業發展異常艱辛，更重要的，政府一方面既不宜輕言放棄，但是廉價勞工的優勢早被中國大陸和東南亞國家取代，石化業的出口利益降低，讓人不能不思考：我們還需要付出這麼大的政治、社會及環境成本，推動石化業嗎？

扁政府時代，接受了石化業仍需發展的論點，拍板定案國光石化案，當時環保團體同樣全力抗爭，環評委員阻卻無效，還爆出時任行政院副院長的蔡英文直接去電關切。為了這個政策決定，時任行政院長的民進黨總統初選候選人蘇貞昌公開道歉。但蘇、蔡同時簽署反國光石化連署的同時，某種程度已經讓國光石化案成為總統大選不可逃避的議題。

基於產業群聚的必要，雲林仍是首選，但已經接受台塑六輕的雲林人，卻再不願意多一個國光石化；與雲林相鄰的彰化大力爭取，國光石化決定落腳彰化時，政府絕對沒想到來自環保團體的壓力會這麼大。去年，行政院永續發展獎得獎者之一就是彰化環境保護聯盟，這個社團就是反對國光石化。然而，反對國光石化的不只環團而已；吳內閣新進閣員之一的公共工程委員會主委李鴻源就簽署反國光石化。他的理由非常簡單：彰化和雲林同屬台灣地層下陷最嚴重的區域，不適合再發展石化產業。

經濟部在化解環保爭議時的說法，一概強調所有的環保需求都訂定最高規格，不必擔心中華白海豚的生存，因為有迴游的廊帶。問題是：要迴游就是有影響。經濟部也強調，老舊石化廠必需淘汰，國光石化不建老舊廠區就不能除役，對環境影響更大。問題是：國光石化也會老，十年之後，台灣是否還要面臨一次要不要另一個國光石化的爭議和討論？

卅多年前，孫運璿就有眼光看到台灣產業轉型的必要；卅多年後，台灣再一次面臨產業抉擇，我們還有沒有這樣有魄力、有遠見的行政院長，能為台灣產業發展做出關鍵性的決策？親上火線出席反國光石化餐會的馬英九總統，無法在被政治操作的場合，深刻了解基層民眾對環保的憂慮；但是，走上大城溼地親嘗鮮蚵的馬總統，總該體會大自然就是基層民眾的生計。扁政府時代既已考慮外移方案，馬政府確實應該審慎檢視石化業外移的可能性，不要率爾耗蝕老天賞給台灣的美好環境。