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Workshop Held to Strengthen Cooperation between Prosecution

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The MOENV’s Environmental Management Administration (EMA), in collaboration with the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), organized the 2023 Workshop on Strengthening Investigation of Environmental Crime on 23 September, 2023. The event was attended by Executive Yuan Minister without Portfolio Chang Tzi-chin, MOJ Minister Tsai Ching-hsiang, MOENV Deputy Minister Shen Chih-hsiu, and Supreme Prosecutors Office Head Prosecutor Lu Wen-chung, as well as some 80 representatives from the MOJ, the Supreme Prosecutors Office, district prosecutors' offices, the National Police Agency, and county and city environmental bureaus. The purpose was to engage all participants in discussions about the Enforcement Plan for Investigating Environmental Crime and the Prosecution, Police and Environmental Authorities Coordination Platform to enhance efforts to combat environmental crime.

Lin Zuo-xiang, EMA Deputy Director-General, expressed that since the collaboration between environmental agencies, prosecutors, and the police began in 2011, a cooperative model had been developed. In response to evolving techniques used in environmental crimes, strategies were developed through cross-agency cooperation to utilize technology to enhance investigative efficiency. The authorities had successfully uncovered cases such as the nation’s first air pollution case related to exhaust gas bypass, major food sludge cases, heavy metal wastewater pollution in industrial areas, and cross-county waste acid disposal cases. The positive results speak louder than words.

Chang Tou-hui, Chief Prosecutor of the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office, pointed out that to implement the Executive Yuan's land conservation policy, the Judicial Investigation of Environmental Crime Cases Implementation Plan (檢察機關查緝環保犯罪案件執行方案) was developed in 2011. The purpose was to establish a mechanism for joint investigations by the prosecution, police and environmental authorities to handle environmental crime cases. The recent amendment to this plan focused on encouraging outstanding personnel. To promote source tracing and expand investigations of environmental crimes, district prosecutors' offices were encouraged to give preferential rewards to outstanding personnel. Moreover, the amendment placed emphasis on the restoration of polluted environment to their original state by unlawful businesses as a key area for performance evaluation.

To exchange on crime investigation experiences, Prosecutor Chen Hsiang-wei from the Taichung District Prosecutors Office shared with attendees the "Waste Acid Washing Liquid Case," and Kuo Chen-hsiang, Technical Specialist at the EMA’s Northern Regional Environmental Management Center presented a case involving discharge bypass by a technology company. Representatives from the Taichung and Changhua district prosecutors' offices also gave special presentations on the “Development of the Prosecution, Police and Environmental Authorities Collaboration Platform" and on "How to Create the Greatest Risks for Environmental Crime Syndicates." Attendees found these presentations highly beneficial.

In his address, Minister without Portfolio Chang Tzi-chin shared his experience in inspections and emphasized how the collaboration between environmental agencies, prosecutors, and the police has been crucial in successfully solving major environmental crime cases. He expressed his gratitude to all the environmental, judicial, and police partners involved in protecting the environment. MOJ Minister Tsai Ching-hsiang remarked that the review video in the workshop provided a deeper understanding of the challenges involved in environmental law enforcement. He stressed the importance of environmental restoration and emphasized that, in the future, judiciary measures would be used to hold businesses accountable for environmental restoration. He also expressed his gratitude to the MOENV for organizing the Gold Environment Awards (金環獎), which greatly encourage his law enforcement colleagues.

Deputy Minister Shen stated that on 22 August, 2023, the MOENV established four administrations and one academy. The original Bureau of Environmental Inspection was upgraded to become the EMA, which would focus on digital technological enforcement and pollution prevention in the future. Through the collaboration between environmental agencies, prosecutors and the police, more than 700 illegal waste dumping sites had been cleared. In the future, the MOENV would continue to promote the restoration of illegal waste dumping sites to protect our homeland.

Excerpt from Major Environmental Policies, October 2023
Source: 
Ministry of Environment
Updated: 
2023-12-07
Hit: 
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