The Environmental Laws and Policies of Taiwan: A Comparative Law Perspective

This Article discusses the development of environmental regulation and preservation in Taiwan in light of United States environmental law. The Article begins with a discussion of how few measures have been enacted to protect the Taiwanese environment. It then illuminates some of the problems with the Taiwanese environmental regulations that do exist. According to the author, some of these problems include: ambiguous and conflicting goals enunciated in the legislation; political pressures on the authorities influencing environmental policies; poor enforcement mechanisms; a legislative bias in favor of regulating new sources of pollution and against enforcing regulations in the case of old sources; and little or no litigation over environmental laws.

The author next points out the weaknesses in Taiwan's policy of selective enforcement and its ineffective use of economic instruments to control pollution. The author concludes this Article with some suggestions of how Taiwan could improve its environmental regulation efforts.