A Case Study on the Issues of Justice from the Process of Establishing the Sixth Naphtha Cracking Project

• Main Authors: Bing-Heng Chan, 陳秉亨
• Other Authors: none
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2005
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/2vv6es

碩士 === 靜宜大學 === 生態學研究所 === 93 === The purpose of this study attempts to explore the social injustice placed upon the local people influenced by Sixth Naphtha Cracking Project in Yunlin coastal zone. Based on the analysis, the study shows the social injustice upon the so-called “environmental refugee” is greatly ignored under the mythical economic discourse constructed by Sixth Naphtha Cracking Project. Sixth Naphtha Cracking Project is the biggest private petroleum and petrochemical industry. Although it has contribution on Taiwan’s economic growth, the environmental influences on local people can not be simply dismissed. These include the change of coastal geomorphology, public hazards and pollution, the diminishing of fishery, increase of traffic accidents, irregular trading of housing estate, and increase of criminal and sexual industry. One important question is that the tax paid by Formosa Plastics Group is going to the central government rather than local government. Two levels of injustice occurred. Firstly, it is the pollution in local area seldom gets compensation. Secondly, the tax is going to the central government but however, the pollution stays with the local people. It is against the principle raised by John Rawls’ justice philosophy, in which Rawls insists the least powerful should get the biggest benefits from the distribution point of view. The analysis of the archive shows in the process of establishing the plant, Formosa Plastics Group has got a great deal of assistance and financial support from the government. These include the easy pass of environmental impact assessment, the gain of industrial zone, the reduction of water price and tax. It is shown that the planning scheme of Formosa Plastics Group had been changed illegally several times, but the government agrees with it. It is against some social justice principle by over compensating the plant by using the public funding and violating the procedure justice of changing the planning of building the plant.