Electronics Industry and Occupational Health Hazards in Taiwan: the Power of Mobilization in a Groundbreaking Class Action

• In Event: Managing Harm in East Asia: Regulation or Class Action?

Abstract

In April 2015, after seven years of court hearings and a mobilization that started in 1998, the district court of Taipei reached a historic verdict. The court ordered the defendant RCA – Radio Corporation of America – and its parent firm Technicolor (alias Thompson Electronics) to pay compensation to 445 plaintiffs, former workers at RCA plant in Taoyuan, after determining that the company had exposed the employees to toxic substances such as organic solvents by illegally disposing of its used chemicals. Production of epidemiological knowledge under the current paradigm takes time, especially for the adverse health effects of chemicals that are used in large-scale industrial production. Such “undone science” has been used by RCA as “proof” that the company is not responsible for health problems of its former employees. This was challenged in later epidemiological and toxicological studies, and approved by the court decision of April 2015, formulating a novel and more practical interpretation of the statute of limitation in tort litigation. This decision may have profound effects on future toxic tort lawsuits and regulation of hazardous chemicals in Taiwan and elsewhere. Based on the authors’ extensive participant observation as consultants for the plaintiff group through years of litigation, this article explores the social mix that made it possible to mobilize victims and their supporters in various professions into an effective and resilient collaborative undertaking.

Authors

• Hsin-hsing Chen, Shih Hsin University

• Yiping Lin, National Yangming University