Formosa representative repents “trade-off” comment

April 26, 2016 | 21:10

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Taiwanese Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Ltd.’s public relations director will face chastisement by the company leadership for his “steel or fish” comment regarding the mass dying of fish along the central coast of Vietnam.

“I apologise for making the statement and causing public uproar, all without permission from the company,” Chou Chun-fan, public relations director of Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Ltd., which operates the $10. 5 billion Formosa Ha Tinh steel and port complex, said at a press conference organised by Hung Nghiep Formosa a few minutes ago.

Earlier, Chou said in an interview with VTCNews that “sometimes there is a trade-off.” “I am being honest. We have to choose. Do we want to catch fish or do we want to have a modern steel factory?”

The statement, which was later quoted by all major media outlets in Vietnam, added fuel to the fire as Formosa is currently suspected of polluting the sea.

At the press meeting, Hung Nghiep Formosa deputy general director Zhang Funing said that the company’s wastewater processing system cost $45 million and was very modern.

“Vietnamese government agencies are investigating whether the mass dying of fish and Formosa’s discharging wastewater have anything to do with each other, and we have to wait for the results,” he said.