Formosa and mass fish death
Beijing and Taipei, authors of the great ecological disaster in Vietnam
Jailing for protesters
By AFP Mail online Click HERE 08:09 GMT, 2 October 2016 | UPDATED: 08:10 GMT, 2 October 2016
Taiwan’s Formosa, which is building a multi-billion dollar steel plant in the area, was blamed for the disaster and fined $500 million.
The government said it would start paying affected fishermen in October and confirmed last week that payouts range from $130 to $1,600 per person depending on losses calculated between April and September.
Sunday’s demonstrators demanded additional compensation.
« The protestors, who were directly hit by the Formosa scandal, asked for compensation and required the plant to close, » witness Hoang Sy Son told AFP.
Photos and video on social media showed protesters, led by a Catholic priest, surrounding the steel plant in Ky Anh township and chanting bible passages.
« A lot of security people and vehicles were deployed here, but no clashes were seen, » Son added, speaking from the rally.
AFP could not reach authorities for comment Sunday.
The rallies came days after fishermen in the area filed more than 500 lawsuits demanding additional compensation from the government over the disaster.
Demonstrators have held rare protests in several cities across the authoritarian country after the mass fish deaths, with police breaking up some rallies and jailing scores.
Protesters blamed officials for dragging their feet on investigations into the scandal.
Formosa is no stranger to controversy in Vietnam. In 2014, three people were killed when anti-China riots took place at the same Ha Tinh steel plant, where a scaffolding collapse also killed 14 last year.
The conglomerate has paid millions of dollars in fines over environmental mishaps elsewhere.
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