National Parks of Taiwan

From Legislator to Garbage Man : Leading the Taiwan EPA into a Bright Future

Cliff Yang

When he was drafted by Premier Chang Chun-Hsuing in May to join the Cabinet as the head of the Taiwan EPA, Winston Dang, a legislator, has only a few minutes to decide how he would turn himself into an offical occupying the highest position in the government responsible for cleaning up the garbage on the street." "In August, Washington International published an article described him as a an 'Over-Educated Garbage Man' ."

Taiwan has marched ahead, making good progress in the area of environmental protection in recent years. Having an official who worked for many years for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as head of Taiwan's very own Environmental Protection Agency has been a very positive sign for the country in its determined drive to address environmental concerns.

Dr. Winston Dang (陳重信) has been introducing cutting-edge technology and western management style to Taiwan's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since his appointment as minister of the EPA a few months ago.

"Although Taiwan has developed environmental awareness just as the United States has," said EPA Minister Dang, "we still need to increase the public's discipline though," Dang said.

Dang after his return to Taiwan was impressed by the public's awareness of environmental protection as seen in practices such as garbage sorting and using less plastic bags. The latest statistics also show a great recycling rate (36.23% in the first half of this year).

However, Dang expressed his concern about the people's lack of discipline, a factor which seems to hinder Taiwan's effort in environmental protection. The government must address the issue regarding discipline at the national level, according to him.

Dang briefed participants on what Taiwan's policy and plan of action regarding global climate changes are at the  "U.S.-Taiwan Annual Meeting on Environmental Issues of Common Concern" in Hawaii on August 16 to 17 this year. Afterwards, he met his American counterpart and other senior U.S. officials in Washington DC. They talked about drawing up measures to address greenhouse emission and pollution concern traced to China, and rest of the world.

Working closely with EPA in the U.S.

"The Taiwan EPA is proposing to enhance the collaborations with the U.S. EPA in areas like pollutant reduction, environmental technology exchange as well as pollution investigation." Dang revealed.

Steve Johnson, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, was Dang's former colleague at the workplace. "That we have both become the heads of EPA in our home countries has come as a pleasant surprise," he said.

After graduating from the Taipei Medical University, Dang pursued his master's degree in public health from Harvard University and his doctorate in Biochemistry from City University of New York (CUNY). Then, he handled environmental management work at the U.S. EPA, specializing in the pesticide issue.

The friendship between Dang and Johnson has been helpful for working out some bilateral projects dealing with environmental issues. The U.S. EPA would propose to help Taiwan establish a cap and trade system of greenhouse gas or other air-borne pollutants and introduce some technologies to cut down greenhouse gas. Concerning airborne multi-pollutant reduction, the Taiwan EPA will focus on removing SOx, NOx and GHGs generated by the petrochemical industry and the steel industry.

"The most significant project," the head of the Taiwan EPA noted, "has to do with the environment investigation through the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) satellites. We have established a monitor station at Mt. Lulin to investigate the airborne pollutants".

He went on: "Pollution traced to China has ruined air quality on Taiwan. The heavy metals such as mercury generated by China's coal burning factories will cause permanent harm to our body. The high attitude monitor station at Yushan has detected twice the amount of mercury in Oct. to Nov. 2006 when compared to that from the average annual value."

The heavy pollution drifting over the Taiwan Strait, traced to the factories in China, is ruining Taiwan's air quality and making people sick, according to the minister. He was skeptical that the Beijing government could improve its air quality prior to the Olympic Games are scheduled there in August 2008.

"We should suggest to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to require every athlete to be equipped with a gas mask. This is to guard against airborne pollutants ruining their health," Dang said.

When Taiwanese officials traveled early this month to the meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Sydney, Australia, global warming and pollution were high on the agenda. Dang urged China to learn from environmental improvements made by Taiwan, an island of 23 million residents. He said Taiwan is a world leader in garbage recycling, trash disposal, and kitchen waste collecting.

"We are willing and ready to help them deal with the problem," said Dang, who worked at the U.S. EPA for 15 years before becoming a Taiwanese legislator and getting appointed to head the EPA in Taiwan. "China has to realize that environment is a borderless issue and statistics hav shown air pollution, dust storm, acid rain, specifically, has caused the air quality in Taiwan to deteriorate, even affecting countries as far as the United States," he added.

China emits the most carbon dioxide in the world, which is primarily responsible for global warming and its industries emit heavy metals such as mercury and arsenic, all of which may cause permanent brain damage and birth defect.

According to an Associated Press report, huge amount of money has been spent by China to move industries out of Beijing. The Beijing government plans to ban at least one-third of 3.3 million vehicles as well as temporarily shut down dust-spewing sites and sooty factories during the 17-day Olympics Games.

Taiwan and China have no official forum to discuss measures to deal with the pollutants from China, Dang said, But scholars from both sides occasionally meet.

Stan Shih, representing Taiwan at the APEC, tried to be a vocal presence at the APEC regarding this environmental issue.

"One may think that the pursuit of environmental protection may impede economic growth," he remarked. "But the Taiwan experience is that environmental protection not only benefits the country's booming recycling industry and also provides a window of opportunity for developing Taiwan's diplomacy."

Since the implementation of recycling policy by the EPA, the recycling industry has been extracting valuable metals such as lead from waste batteries at a time when metal price is soaring. "Recycling factories can also extract 1 kilogram of gold from 1,000 computers," Dang explained.

Even as Taiwan tries to sign a free trade agreement with Centra American countries, where natural resources are star industries, it seeks to further strengthen the economic performance of the local recycling industry, according to Dang.

With Taiwan's splendid performance and rich experience in garbage recycling, some allies such as Republic of El Salvador are now looking forward to technology exchanges and co-operation with us," said Dang. "President Chen Shui-Bian (陳水扁) also is proposing to establish a World Enviromental Organization (WEO) in the hope of sharing our efforts in environmental protection with other countries and strengthening Taiwan's international reputation."

Bullish about environmental protection

Dang remarked further: "I am bullish about the development of environment protection in Taiwan. The next generation would enjoy a healthier environment."

Now, children show their concern about the environment in their own way. An 8-age-old elementary student who puts a plastic bag in a bin for recycling impressed the top EPA official. Awareness of the importance of garbage recycling and sorting, and sustainable development has been successfully integrated into the education system. As Dang said, the awareness of environmental protection has been improving in the last decade. Both the public and the private sectors are determined to develop green industry and products. The EPA has been encouraged to implement more environmental policies such as the use of hybrid cars in place of fossil fuel-consuming vehicle.