"There are a lot of reasons," says Ch'en K'ai-sheng, who has a master's degree in environmental law from National Taiwan University, indicating first and foremost that "regulations are too lax." The stiffest penalty for polluters is NT $ 60,000 (about US $ 2,200), and they have to be punished continuously for six months before they can be shut down.
「對許多路過高雄的人，見到中油晚間冒著火光的高塔，也許會形容那是帶動台灣經濟成長的『驕傲之火』；對我們，那卻是一把『痛苦的火』」，李三沖說。