Media Contact:
Rebekah Staub, rstaub@earthworks.org
POINT COMFORT, TEXAS – On October 31st Goldman Environmental Prize recipients Diane Wilson, Sharon Lavigne and members of the International Monitor Formosa Alliance (IMFA) will launch a Global Hunger Strike and hold a press conference to demand justice for the Vietnamese communities whose livelihoods were affected by the environmental disaster caused by Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Plant, a subsidiary of the Formosa Plastics Group.
The Global Hunger Strike will begin with a press conference in front of the Formosa Plastics’ Point Comfort, Texas facility.
WHO: International Monitor Formosa Alliance
WHEN: October 31, 2023, 2pm CT
WHERE: 201 Formosa Dr., Point Comfort, TX 77978
In 2016, the plant released a large amount of toxic chemicals into the sea, causing serious damage to marine life and devastating the lives of over 179,000 residents. To this day, many victims have not been compensated despite the $500 million paid directly to the Vietnamese government by Formosa Plastics. Many who have covered the issue, protested or pursued legal action have been unlawfully detained, and nearly 8,000 victims have filed lawsuits.
“Halloween is a significant day to launch our strike because many years ago on this date, Chairman YZ Wang, the founder of Formosa Plastics in Taiwan, and many Taiwanese reporters came to our community to bask in the glory of the $3 billion plastic facility that they had built. I remember because I was outside the ceremony protesting in the parking lot,” says Diane Wilson, Co-founder of IMFA. “Thirty-five years later we again are outside protesting Formosa, this time seeking justice for the Vietnamese fishermen whose lives were ruined by Formosa’s pollution and disregard for people, community, and environment.”
In a letter sent to President Biden ahead of his visit to Hanoi, activists called on the administration to recognize the lack of restitution for victims of the disaster. The Biden Administration has yet to respond.