The decision of the Taipei District Court in mid-October to dismiss a lawsuit filed by close to 8,000 Vietnamese fishermen against Taiwanese company Formosa Plastics claim proves an appalling move where Taiwan’s international human rights record is concerned...

The lawsuit was filed in response to mass fish die-offs that took place in April 2016...The fish die-offs left entire fishing villages bereft of their source of livelihood, with reports of food poisoning from the fish that were washed up...

Yet despite Formosa Steel agreeing to compensation in 2016, most victims have not yet received any settlement. Hence the rationale for the lawsuit...

The ruling of the Taipei District Court claimed that it lacked jurisdiction over the case, although the argument made by the plaintiffs was that Formosa Steel was a Taiwanese company. The International Federation for Human Rights passed a resolution afterward calling on the Taipei District Court to reconsider its decision and an online petition was started by Justice for Formosa Victims, which was signed by over 3,000 people. An appeal was filed on October 24th, meaning that the case will next go to the Taiwan High Court.