Editing Formosa Plastics Group (section)

===Naphtha Cracker #6 (六輕)===
[[File:Formosa Petrochemical FK-R1.jpg|thumb|240px|Formosa Petrochemical Oil Tanker]]
FPG's [[naphtha]] cracker &ndash; the sixth petrochemical processing plant of that kind in Taiwan &ndash; was first proposed in 1973, but the ruling [[Kuomintang|KMT]] government still imposed a monopoly at that time and denied permission.  Permission was granted in 1986, as [[President of the Republic of China|President]] [[Chiang Ching-kuo]] instituted reforms to loosen the [[authoritarianism]] instituted by his father, [[Chiang Kai-shek]].  At that time, FPG proposed a [[NT$]]90 billion complex that would be located in the Litzu Industrial Zone of [[Ilan County]].  Local residents opposed this plan on the basis of its environmental impact and, led by County Magistrate Chen Ding-Nan (陳定南), formed the Alliance against Sixth Naphtha Cracker. After a successful campaign, including a televised debate between Chen and FPG Chairman Wang, they eventually forced the company to look elsewhere.  The second site proposed by FPG, in [[Taoyuan City|Taoyuan County]]'s Kuanyin Industrial Zone, generated similar opposition from local residents.

FPG shelved these proposals in 1989 and Chairman [[Wang Yung-ching]] traveled secretly to mainland China to find a solution there.  In 1990, he announced his intention to develop the complex on the [[People's Republic of China]]-controlled island of Haitsang, in [[Fujian Province]].  The [[Republic of China|Nationalist government]] condemned the project and in 1992 secured an offshore site near Mailiao, in Taiwan's impoverished [[Yunlin County]], where local administrators welcomed the investment.

Total investment in the complex, after four phases of construction throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, included the following major features: 
*an oil refinery: 450,000 barrels (72,000 m<sup>3</sup>) per day
*a [[naphtha]] cracking plant (production capacity: 1.35 million tons ethylene per year)
*a coal-burning power plant (capacity: 3 GW)
*Taiwan's first wind power plant (total combined capacity of the four turbines: 2,640&nbsp;kW).

This project provoked intense opposition, just as Chiang Ching-kuo's reforms allowed tolerance for public expressions of dissatisfaction.  The environmentalists' public protests, including a 3000-person rally at the Ministry of Economic Affairs in 1990, reflected the island's gradual transformation from authoritarianism to democracy.  Beyond environmental concerns, protesters and newly legalized [[Tangwai|opposition parties]] denounced the [[cronyism]] they saw in the expedited approvals, extended tax holiday, subsidized loans, extremely low land prices for the land, and special allowance for a private port.

During the construction of Naphtha Cracker #6, further trouble arose when 200 to 300 [[Thai (ethnic group)|Thai]] and [[Filipino people|Filipino]] workers fought on 5 September 1999.  The brawl was reported to have lasted eight hours.    Despite these complications, the plant proceeded as scheduled and continues to enjoy government support.