The Conference on Toxic Waste Dumping in the South China Sea

VIETNAM FOR PROGRESS

THE CONFERENCE ON TOXIC WASTE DUMPING IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA: ENVIRONMENTAL AND LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

May 10, 2017, 9 AM – 2 PM EST The United States Congress, Washington D.C.

Introduction: The conference is set on the one year anniversary of the “Vung Ang incidence”. Since April of 2016, there has been massive sea life destruction along the coastal regions of Vietnam including Vung Ang Economic Zone. International and Vietnamese media reported possible toxic waste dumping, including in Vung Ang and coastal regions by the Formosa-Ha Tinh Steel company.

Asia.nikkei.com, 28 April 2016

“Authorities have finally begun to deliberate on the apparent mass poisoning of sea life in open waters and fish farms along Vietnam's coast -- as well as the possibility of the related death of a diver. Evidence of poisoning came to light in a Facebook posting on April 6 after tons of shrimp and fish perished at local fish farms along the coastline in Ha Tinh Province. Similar reports followed from areas further south in the same sea current off Quang Tri, Quang Binh and Hue. The latest reports of dead fish are from off Danang, some 400km south of the suspected source. The toxic contamination is believed to have come from Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel's steel plant in the Vung Ang Economic Zone. The company is a subsidiary of Taiwan's Formosa Plastics Group. On Tuesday, Vietnamese authorities inspected the plant after gathering samples from affected areas. The diver died on Sunday after developing breathing problems. He had been working around the breakwater system of the economic zone's port area near the plant. Five others have been hospitalized with similar symptoms. Officials from seven ministries gathered in Hanoi on Wednesday to address the environmental disaster that has already affected at least five provinces. The meeting came almost three weeks after the first Facebook post indicating a problem.”

The New York Times, M Ives, Oct 3, 2016

“Six months after a chemical spill killed tons of fish and devastated fishing communities along Vietnam’s central coast, anger over the episode is still raw, posing a challenge for a government that has struggled to address it.

Conference on Toxic Waste Dumping in the South China Sea: Environmental and Legal Implications US Congress, Washington DC May 10th, 2017 VIETNAM FOR PROGRESS

In the latest sign of this festering outrage, thousands of demonstrators swarmed a steel factory in the central province of Ha Tinh on Sunday, echoing the street protests that erupted in the country’s major cities in April when photographs of piled-up fish corpses were widely shared on social media.

After weeks of silence, officials acknowledged in late June that the Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation, the Taiwanese company that owns the steel factory, had caused the deaths by leaking chemicals into the adjacent South China Sea.

Formosa Steel admitted responsibility and agreed to pay $500 million in damages for what many Vietnamese consider one of the worst environmental disasters in the country’s modern history.

But residents of coastal villages and towns, where fishing drives the economies, have continued to hold boisterous rallies against the government and the company. At Sunday’s rally, organized by a local Roman Catholic diocese, riot police officers outside the factory clashed with protesters before fleeing the scene, video and photographs circulating on social media show. Some of the protesters later climbed atop the factory’s outer wall.”

International Business Times, C Zara, April 30, 2016

“Meanwhile, calls for action and accountability are spreading feverishly across social media, including in the United States, where more than 17,000 people have signed a White House petition asking the U.S. government to investigate the cause of the fish deaths. Another petition, on Change.org, is asking the famed environmental crusader Erin Brockovich to lead activists in a class action lawsuit against Formosa.

Elsewhere on social media, some commentators said they hoped the global outcry could spur needed changes in a country known for a lack of transparency.”

This conference will evaluate the one-year accountability on the progress of clean up, restitution and legal remedies for the victims and the environment in the affected regions. Formosa gave the Vietnamese Government 500 million USD in June, 2016 with a video statement from the Formosa Ha Tinh Steel president Chen Yuan-cheng offering apology to Vietnamese Government and people at a press conference (Reuters, Kham, June 30, 2016).

Reuters , Yu, Jess Macy; Hung, Faith, 14 November 2016:

“More than 50 violations at a steel mill run by Taiwan's Formosa Plastics Group, including the unauthorized use of a dirtier production process, led to Vietnam's worst environmental disaster, according to an internal government report. The July report, reviewed by Reuters, is the first official document to emerge publicly since the April accident, when a toxic leak sullied over 200 km (125 miles) of coastline, killed more than 100 tonnes of fish and left thousands jobless. After months of popular outrage against both the Hanoi government and one of the communist state's largest investors, Formosa agreed in June to pay $500 million in compensation. The report, signed by Vietnam's environment minister and written after consultation with an unidentified panel of international experts, said Formosa did not keep to production plans agreed in original environmental assessments made for the $10.6 billion project.”

“Thousands of people from the affected regions have criticized the government for its handling of the disaster and the payment of compensation, and accused the police of heavy-handed measures to break up demonstrations sparked by the spill.”

The scholars and experts of the conference will explore the focused environmental issues, the applicable legal implications for the international community, and specific safety measures for imported seafood products from these regions into Australia/Canada/EU/US. 1. Evaluate and raise international awareness of the current environmental situation in coastal Vietnam and affected regions of the South China Sea after one year

2. Explore applicable legal remedies and solutions

3. Promote international collaboration on environmental protection, and to assess safety standards of imported seafood products to consumers in Australia, EU and North America

Co-hosts: The Moncton University School of Law and Vietnam For Progress

Program: (Tentative with invited Speakers): Keynote: Professor Peter Navarro, University of California, Irvine School of Business Moderator: Professor Roger Bilodeau, Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada Speakers: Professor Fernand de Varennes, Dean of the Moncton University School of Law Professor Malaika Bacon-Dussault, Faculty on Environment and International Trade, Moncton University School of Law Mr. John Purdy, Consultant, Toronto Professor Thanh N Truong, University of Utah Dr. Vinh T Ngo, Author, California Mr. Warren Perrin, Esq. and Adjunct Professor, University of Louisiana at Lafayette School of Law Conference on Toxic Waste Dumping in the South China Sea: Environmental and Legal Implications US Congress, Washington DC May 10th, 2017 VIETNAM FOR PROGRESS

Mr. Toan Q Trinh, Esq., Toronto

Distinguished and Honored Guests: Honorable members of the Parliaments of Australia/EU/Canada and the US Congress and invited speakers

Audience: By invitation and registered guests

Standing Organizing Committee: The Federation of the Vietnamese Canadian Associations, the Federation of the Vietnamese Australian Associations, the Federation of the Vietnamese Associations in Germany, the Vietnamese American Communities of CA/DC/FL/MD/NY/TX/CA, the Law Firm of Perrin, Landry, deLaunay, Dartez and Ouellet, and Vietnam For Progress

Excerpts of news articles

Asia.nikkei.com, 28 April 2016

“Authorities have finally begun to deliberate on the apparent mass poisoning of sea life in open waters and fish farms along Vietnam's coast -- as well as the possibility of the related death of a diver.

Evidence of poisoning came to light in a Facebook posting on April 6 after tons of shrimp and fish perished at local fish farms along the coastline in Ha Tinh Province.

Similar reports followed from areas further south in the same sea current off Quang Tri, Quang Binh and Hue. The latest reports of dead fish are from off Danang, some 400km south of the suspected source.

The toxic contamination is believed to have come from Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel's steel plant in the Vung Ang Economic Zone. The company is a subsidiary of Taiwan's Formosa Plastics Group. On Tuesday, Vietnamese authorities inspected the plant after gathering samples from affected areas.

The diver died on Sunday after developing breathing problems. He had been working around the breakwater system of the economic zone's port area near the plant. Five others have been hospitalized with similar symptoms.

Officials from seven ministries gathered in Hanoi on Wednesday to address the environmental disaster that has already affected at least five provinces. The meeting came almost three weeks after the first Facebook post indicating a problem.

The agriculture ministry told reporters on Saturday that the sea life perished in toxic seawater with abnormally high phosphate content and pH levels. While the toxicity seemed to be abating, the authorities had yet to determine the contamination source.

Vietnamese media have homed in on the Taiwanese plant's wastewater treatment. Local fisherman Nguyen Xuan Thanh told Tuoitre newspaper that he and others saw yellow water being discharged from a pipe leading from the plant days before dead fish washed up on beaches on April 6.

Chou Chun-fan, the public relations director at the steel plant, added to the poisonous atmosphere when he told a local TV station that Vietnam needed to choose between catching fish and shrimp and having a state of the art steel plant.

"You cannot have it all," Chou said. He subsequently told a local reporter that he had been sacked and was leaving Vietnam for Taiwan.

Formosa Plastics apologized in Taiwan for Chou's "careless speech." On Tuesday, it issued a statement concerning the "unknown pollution" in the sea near Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces. "We are completely surprised and sorry to learn of the incident," the company said. "At this point, we cannot understand what has caused the death of the fish."

Many of Vietnam's 40 million netizens had already reached their own conclusions and taken to Facebook to denounce Chou and Formosa Plastics. "We choose fisheries," they posted.

Others posted pictures of the disaster, and started trying to quantify the damage. A group of lawyers is gathering information to help affected locals seek compensation from those responsible.

The coastal provinces of central Vietnam depend heavily on the seafood industry. Shrimp, catfish and tuna are among fishery exports that earned the country $6.7 billion last year.

The slow response of the authorities has been much criticized, and there have been calls for the closure of the steel plant until more is known. The poisoning has already highlighted Vietnam's inexperience in disaster management.”

Reuters, Yu, Jess Macy; Hung, Faith, 14 November 2016 :

“More than 50 violations at a steel mill run by Taiwan's Formosa Plastics Group, including the unauthorized use of a dirtier production process, led to Vietnam's worst environmental disaster, according to an internal government report.

The July report, reviewed by Reuters, is the first official document to emerge publicly since the April accident, when a toxic leak sullied over 200 km (125 miles) of coastline, killed more than 100 tonnes of fish and left thousands jobless. After months of popular outrage against both the Hanoi government and one of the communist state's largest investors, Formosa agreed in June to pay $500 million in compensation. The report, signed by Vietnam's environment minister and written after consultation with an unidentified panel of international experts, said Formosa did not keep to production plans agreed in original environmental assessments made for the $10.6 billion project. Begun in 2008, the plant was still ramping up at the time of the spill and working at less than 25 percent of total capacity, according to a Formosa Ha Tinh Steel official. But it was not using the processing system agreed with Hanoi authorities, the report said. Formosa was using 'wet' coking - a system which uses water for cooling and is considered more polluting, as it generates more emissions and wastewater containing compounds including cyanide. The alternative 'dry' process, widely used in modern plants, is costlier and does not use water. That proved critical when a power cut disabled the plant's waste processing equipment, spilling contaminated water into the sea, according to the report. Formosa officials agreed it was using the dirtier process but said it had until 2019 to switch to cleaner methods. "We are following their instructions and trying our very best to do what is required," Formosa Ha Tinh Steel (FHS) executive vice president Chang Fu-ning told Reuters. Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment did not respond to written questions and requests for comment on the report or the plant. Chang said Formosa had rectified 45 of 53 violations cited since the July report. Seven more will be fixed by the end of the month he said, without giving details. The plant was now scheduled to begin full commercial production in the first quarter of 2017, subject to approvals, Chang added. Thousands of people from the affected regions have criticized the government for its handling of the disaster and the payment of compensation, and accused the police of heavy-handed measures to break up demonstrations sparked by the spill. Conference on Toxic Waste Dumping in the South China Sea: Environmental and Legal Implications US Congress, Washington DC May 10th, 2017 VIETNAM FOR PROGRESS

In a rare criticism from an active parliamentarian, Tran Cong Thuat, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee of Quang Binh, one of four affected provinces, said this month that everything would be need to be "clear" before FHS scaled up. "No one (from the government) has ever stepped up to take responsibility over the illegal discharge by Formosa," he said in televised comments. "If the issue is not made clear and violations are not resolved, we must resolutely not let Formosa operate." Formosa has plans to expand the steel plant to become the biggest of its kind in Southeast Asia, including a deepwater port and 1,500-megawatt thermal power complex. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has threatened to close down the Formosa plant if there is a repeat. The report said Formosa's failures included omitting a planned water storage dam, a measure which according to experts could have kept tainted water out of the sea even during a power outage. FHS's Chang said the company had committed to build a facility to gather and hold waste water. Friedhelm Schroeder, an academic who was among a group of foreign experts invited by the Vietnam government to assess the damage, said experts had identified other failings. "What the company should have done was shut off all the production of coke, so the toxic substance would not reach the sewage plant," said Schroeder, from the Institute Coastal Research in Germany. An FHS official declined to comment on that aspect and the report by the foreign experts has not been made public. The lack of information released about the accident has galvanized many Vietnamese and mobilized demonstrators on a scale not seen before in the controlled, one-party state that tolerates little dissent.”

Suggested readings 1 1. Jump up ^ Ho Binh Minh (28 April 2016). "Vietnam, grappling with mass fish deaths, clamps down on seafood sales". Reuters. Retrieved 8 May 2016. 2. Jump up ^ Diep Pham; Mai Ngoc Chau (2 May 2016). "Beaches of Dead Fish Test New Vietnam Government's Response". Bloomberg. Retrieved 8 May 2016. 3. Jump up ^ "Vietnam protest over mystery fish deaths". BBC. 1 May 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016. 4. Jump up ^ Steve Mullman (30 June 2016). "A Taiwanese Steel Plant Caused Vietnam's Mass Fish Deaths the Government Says". Quartz. Retrieved 8 July 2016. 5. Jump up ^ Vu Trong Khanh (1 May 2016). "Vietnam Protesters Seek Answers Over Mass Fish Death". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 8 May 2016. 6. Jump up ^ Christopher Zara (30 April 2016). "Vietnam Dead Fish Crisis: Critics Blast Formosa Plastics As Environmental Disaster Devastates Region". International Business Times. Retrieved 8 May 2016. 7. Jump up ^ Ha Tinh (27 April 2016). "Taiwanese firm apologizes for official's callous remarks on mass fish deaths". Thanh Nien News. Retrieved 8 May 2016. 8. Jump up ^ Ho Binh Minh (29 April 2016). "Vietnam tells Taiwan firm to dig up waste pipe amid 'huge' coastal disaster". Reuters. Retrieved 8 May 2016. 9. Jump up ^ Ho Binh Minh; Mai Nguyen (27 April 2016). "Vietnam says no proof Formosa steel plant linked to large-scale marine life destruction". Reuters. Retrieved 8 May 2016. 10. Jump up ^ Tan Qiuyi (27 April 2016). "No link between Vietnam fish deaths and steel plant: Environment Ministry". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 8 May 2016. 11. Jump up ^ "As Vietnam's fish kill scandal grows, a scientist says the cause is known". Asia Times. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016. 12. Jump up ^ "Algae and Toxins, Not Steel Mill Waste, Blamed for Vietnamese Fish Kill". Radio Free Asia. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016. 13. Jump up ^ Pham Huong (29 April 2016). ""Red tide" not to blame for mass fish death: Vinafis". VnExpress. Retrieved 8 May 2016. 14. Jump up ^ "Vietnam Minister Apologizes For 'Confused' And 'Slow' Response to Fish Crisis". Radio Free Asia. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016. 15. Jump up ^ VnExpress. "Bộ trưởng Trần Hồng Hà: 'Tôi vừa trải qua 84 ngày căng thẳng nặng trĩu' - VnExpress" (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2016-06-30. 16. Jump up ^ Mai Ngoc Chau; Yu-Huay Sun (4 May 2016). "Fish Death Crisis Prompts Vietnam Waste Water Probe". Blooomberg. Retrieved 8 May 2016. 17. Jump up ^ "Panoramic view of mass fish death in central Vietnam". Vietnamnet. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016. 18. Jump up ^ "Vietnam's environmental disaster has killed at least 100 tons of fish: official". Thanh Nien News. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016. Conference on Toxic Waste Dumping in the South China Sea: Environmental and Legal Implications US Congress, Washington DC May 10th, 2017 VIETNAM FOR PROGRESS

19. Jump up ^ Tra Mi (5 May 2016). "Vietnam Bans Unsafe Seafood in Central Provinces". Voice of America. Retrieved 8 May 2016. 20. Jump up ^ Diep Ngoc Pham; Mai Ngoc Chau (2 May 2016). "Vietnam's beaches littered with dead fish test country's new government". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 8 May 2016. Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php? title=2016_Vietnam_Marine_Life_Disaster&oldid=754601979" Categories:  2016 in Vietnam  Environment of Vietnam  2016 in the environment  Fish kill  Fishing in Vietnam  Taiwan–Vietnam relations

Suggested readings 2 1. Jump up ^ " 公司沿革 ", www.fhs.com.tw (in Chinese), retrieved 1 May 2016 2. Jump up ^ "Formosa still committed to US$10bln steel plant", english.vietnamnet.vn, 30 July 2014

3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Formosa Steel lifts investment to $22b in cast iron refinery", vietnamnews.vn, 24 April 2012 4. Jump up ^ "Ministry opposes steel region plans", vietnamnews.vn, 28 June 2014 5. Jump up ^ "Formosa Steel to boost investment", vietnamnews.vn, 22 June 2012 6. Jump up ^ "PM hails efforts at major steel plant construction launch", vietnamnews.vn, 3 December 2012 7. Jump up ^ "Economic zone grows into industrial centre", vietnamnews.vn, 22 July 2013 8. Jump up ^ Regan, James (15 August 2013), "Formosa Plastics in $1 billion Australian iron ore deal: Fortescue", www.reuters.com 9. Jump up ^ Hung, Faith (15 May 2014), Urquhart, Michael, ed., "Formosa Plastics' steel plant in Vietnam attacked by mobs", www.reuters.com 10. Jump up ^ Wu, Debbie (19 May 2014), "Formosa Plastics: 4 Chinese workers dead, 3,000 to leave Vietnam", asia.nikkei.com 11. Jump up ^ Wu, Debbie (9 July 2014), "Report: Formosa Plastics to resume steel plant construction in Vietnam", asia.nikkei.com

12. Jump up ^ "Scaffold collapse kills at least 14 at Taiwan's Formosa steel complex in central Vietnam", www.thanhniennews.com, 26 March 2015 13. Jump up ^ Yamashita, Kazunari (18 December 2015), "China Steel to boost investment in Vietnamese mill", asia.nikkei.com 14. Jump up ^ "Vietnam to become key production base", asia.nikkei.com, 17 August 2015 15. Jump up ^ "Formosa Ha Tinh Steel produces Vietnam's first HRC", www.steelfirst.com, 31 December 2015

16. ^ Jump up to: a b "Giant steel project in Ha Tinh to start operation soon", english.vietnamnet.vn, 23 April 2016 17. Jump up ^ "First death in suspected Formosa Plastics toxic leak", asia.nikkei.com, 28 April 2016 18. Jump up ^ Minh, Ho Binh; Nguyen, Mai (27 April 2016), "Vietnam says no proof Formosa steel plant linked to mass fish deaths", www.reuters.com 19. Jump up ^ Minh, Ho Binh (29 April 2016), "Vietnam tells Taiwan firm to dig up waste pipe amid 'huge' coastal disaster", www.reuters.com 20. Jump up ^ "Vietnamese steel unit of Taiwan's Formosa under scrutiny over systematic tax violations", tuoitrenews.vn, 26 May 2016 21. Jump up ^ "Formosa unit owns up to fish kill disaster, commits to $500 million compensation", www.thanhniennews.com, 30 June 2016 22. Jump up ^ Nguyen, Mai (30 June 2016), "Formosa unit offers $500 million for causing toxic disaster in Vietnam", www.reuters.com 23. Jump up ^ Yu, Jess Macy; Hung, Faith (14 November 2016), Broken rules at $11 bln Formosa mill triggered Vietna m

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Conference on Toxic Waste Dumping in the South China Sea: Environmental and Legal Implications US Congress, Washington DC May 10th, 2017