by Akrawat Siripattanachok

語言:
English
Photo Credit: Thai Army

THE RECENT MING DIH factory fire in Thailand is hardly the first time Taiwanese businesses have destroyed the environment in less developed countries. In 2016, a steel mill owned by Formosa Ha Tinh Steel in Vietnam leaked toxic substances and then caused an environmental disaster in 2016. Millions of fish washed up on the shores of Vietnam across several provinces, putting entire fishing villages out of work. Formosa Ha Tinh Steel is a Formosa Plastics Group affiliated company.

The Vietnamese authorities seemed to conceal this toxic leakage at first; however, the government response to protect the company led to mass protests. Subsequently, an investigation found the company fail to meet many security standards and required that they would need pay compensation. Further protests has followed due to the slow pace of compensation.

The fire in Thailand, however, happened near Bangkok on July 5th Facilities owned by Ming Dih Chemical Co. Ltd (Thailand), one of the top plastic producers in Thailand, were damaged in a fire, causing the poisonous air to affect a five kilometer radius. Toxic substances released include pentane and styrene monomer inducing respiratory problems when these substances burn. More investigation about the long-term environmental effects are still under way. 

Ming Dih Chemical Company Limited (Thailand) was established in 1989 in Thailand and is owned by Taiwanese, with a parent company in Taiwan. Indeed, this company has never undergone an environmental impact assessment report because the National Environmental Quality Act was enacted in 1992, after the company was founded. Worse, in 2019 the Thai military junta relaxed the Factory Act that previously required factory licenses to undergo review every five years. Instead, permits became de facto permanent. In addition, the Thai military junta allowed private inspectors to enforce the standards in factories, despite members of the public criticizing this fact. 

When Ming Dih’s factory fire initially occurred, the news firstly blamed Chinese rather than Taiwanese. It is understandable most Thai quickly looked at the name and assumed the factory was Chinese. Many employees in this factory had become infected with COVID-19, so the factory had been quarantined. Employees were mostly migrant workers and protested due to food and electricity shortages. After protesting, they were able to win improvements living conditions and facilities in this plant from their employers.

Video of the fire

It is not surprising many Thai people blamed the government for this incident because they did not act urgently to control this fire in relation to the failure to control the COVID-19 outbreak, while the Taiwanese side is trying to downplay the situation. A press release from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Thailand expressed condolences and stated that it will collaborate closely with Thai government. Ming Dih said much the same, as well as claiming that it would take responsibility to pay compensation.

Although Thai people are less likely to question the Ming Dih company, this proves Taiwanese firms are not quite sincere to us. At the evacuation center, there was no support from TECO and Ming Dih. It is like driving a car and getting into an accident, then continuing to drive back home without caring for the victims. This shows the strong prejudice with which Taiwanese firms and government officers treat the developing countries that they can exploit, while treating developed countries with another standard. 

Yet it is difficult to expect Taiwanese firms to run business responsibly because they cannot guarantee the safety of factories even in their home country. There are many factory fires in Taiwan itself.

A Formosa Plastics plant in Kaoshiung exploded on July 7th. The igniting substances were plastic polymers, like in Thailand. Fortunately, firefighters could control the fire within one hour. Another fire case this year took place in Tainan at a Syn-Tech Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals factory, leading to polluted gas being released into the air. These are only a few of the factory fires that occur in Taiwan each year. 

Preventive measures must be implemented in every factories and paying compensation after incidents is not a solution to solve these problems. 

Taiwanese must sincerely value safety standards and environmental protection. Ways to accomplish this can be by setting aims like zero factory fires every year. This may not be able to be realized within one year, but we need such goals goal. We hope that improved safety in Taiwanese factories can also lead to the strengthening of safety measures for Taiwanese factories in other countries. 

The Taiwanese government and firms should collaborate closely to create responsible business practices. Certainly, Thailand is a developing country with a poor rule of law and a weak regulation that creates a huge room for exploitation; hence, there are fewer environmental protections in the law, whereas developed countries including Taiwan have moved the polluting industries away from their home countries to lesser developed countries with lower operating costs. Many Southeast Asians perceive Taiwan as a developed country with a democratic society. Therefore, many people look at Taiwan as a model that Thailand can pursue. 

Sadly, how can we trust Taiwan as a reliable partner? Taiwanese businesses simply exploit Southeast Asia. 
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