Vietnam Will Close Formosa if Recurrence Found: PM

Vietnam will shut down Taiwan-invested Formosa Hung Nghiep Ha Tinh Steel Corporation if the company is found to violate law on environment protection one more time, state media reported, citing Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. The PM said at a meeting with constituents in the northern coastal city of Haiphong on Aug 3 that the government will continue keeping a close watch on the Taiwanese company’s operations to give timely solutions. On this occasion, the PM asks Haiphong authorities to consider environmental protection in drawing investment. Relating to Formosa’s discharging of waste into sea off Vietnam’s central coast from Ha Tinh to Thua Thien-Hue, authorities in Ha Tinh have continued detecting hundreds tons of waste dumped in Ky Anh district. The waste was tested to contain cyanic concentration exceeding the permitted levels. On Aug 2, Ha Tinh’s police announced to probe the waste dumping case. Earlier, the police forces summoned a number of Formosa’s officials, including director, according to Bui Dinh Quang, deputy director of Ha Tinh Department of Public Security. Formosa incident, which is believed to cause environmental consequences for generations, has caught public indignation and top Vietnamese leaders have raised voice about the case. In a meeting with constituents in the southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang also affirmed to punish any individual and organization that are proved to involve in the Formosa case. Meanwhile, in a press briefing held last month, the parliament’s Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan reiterated that the legislative body will continue supervising the Formosa case. (VietNamNet Aug 3, Vov.vn Aug 3)