Groups invite presidential candidates to anti-pollution rally

Taipei, Dec. 21 (CNA) Several environmental groups on Thursday invited Taiwan's three presidential contenders to attend a rally against air pollution set to take place in front of the Taichung City Hall on Sunday.

At a press conference, environmental campaigners, wearing masks of the candidates' faces and Santa suits, asked who would be able to deliver the "best Christmas presents" of a "zero coal Taichung Power Plant" and a "zero coal Sixth Naphtha Cracker Project."

The groups, led by Air Clean Taiwan (ACT), requested that the presidential candidates commit to phasing out the use of coal at the Taichung Power Plant during their four-year term.

Yeh Guang-perng (葉光芃), initiator of ACT and a practicing physician, told the press that the Taichung Power Plant was one of the worst carbon emitters in the world, citing a speech by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore at the COP28 climate conference.

The groups also reported that Jhushan Township and Puli Township, both in Nantou County, have the highest PM2.5 concentration from the power plant.

As such, Yeh called on Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) to work with neighboring counties to convert the Taichung Power Plant to natural gas.

Doctors and physicians practicing in central parts of Taiwan also appealed at the conference for the health and well-being of citizens, especially the children.

The Taichung Power Plant consists of 10 coal-fired steam turbine generators with a combined capacity of 5,500 megawatts, according to state-run Taiwan Power Co.'s official website. It is Taiwan's largest thermal power plant.

The Sixth Naphtha Cracker Project is a petrochemical complex owned by Formosa Plastics Group located in Yunlin County, which has been criticized repeatedly over its environmental record since opening in the 1990s.