Vietnam Govt Asked to Report Massive Fish Death in Coming Parliament Session

The Standing Committee of Vietnam’s National Assembly (NA) has said that the government should report massive fish death issues to the NA in its upcoming plenary meeting slated for July 20-30. The government should prepare report to lawmakers on the issues which happened in the coastal areas from the central provinces of Ha Tinh to Thua Thien-Hue in April, the Thanh Nien newspaper reported, citing Nguyen Hanh Phuc, general secretariat of the NA’s Office. The massive fish death happened for months along coastal areas in central Vietnam, triggering concerns about the poisoning of Vietnamese sea and Taiwanese Formosa Plastic Group located in the central province of Ha Tinh appeared to be the first suspect. Suspicion has centered on Hung Nghiep Formosa Steel Company, a major Taiwanese firm in the Vung Ang Economic Zone in Ha Tinh. The company admitted it has a large sewage pipe going straight into the sea, but it claimed all its discharged wastewater had been treated. The Vietnamese government has announced the cause of the situation, attributing it to red tide. Local scientists and people strongly opposed the result. Following the situation, Vietnamese people have signed in a petition to the U.S. President Obama for help. The petition has gained more than 140,000 signatures. However, the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius said at the Washington D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on June 8 that Vietnam has immediately refused the embassy’s proposal for technical support from the U.S., giving no details of the refusal. (Thanh Nien – Young People June 14, www.voatiengviet.com June 9)