00:0039-year-old Johan Sapara has been working at Morawale Industrial Park,
00:05Indonesia's largest nickel processing site, for four years.
00:08The raw material, called nickel pig iron, is an essential component for stainless steel,
00:13and now EV batteries. But it's hard work that also exposes workers to harmful pollutants
00:19and extreme temperatures. Over the years, Sapara says he's seen hundreds of workers get sick.
00:24There was even a deadly accident at his workplace. The Indonesian subsidiary
00:28of Taiwanese wire and cable manufacturer Hua Xinlihua. Now he's come to the headquarters
00:34in Taipei to call for change.
00:37This is an upscale company, so it should also have top-grade safety measures,
00:42including a more advanced public safety setup.
00:48Sapara is part of a group of advocates from Indonesia visiting Taipei to call attention
00:52to problems in Indonesia's nickel industry. Hua Xinlihua says the company follows corporate
00:57sustainability practices and found inconsistencies in reports from NGOs. But besides worker safety,
01:03there are environmental concerns too. Indonesia has the world's largest nickel reserves,
01:08and industrial parks there are projected to account for 62 percent of global production by 2030.
01:14They also happen to be in some of the most biodiverse places in the world. And as demand
01:20for green energy continues to grow, so do the impacts of resource extraction and production.
01:27If we want to transition to green energy, it's useless because the supply chain is created at the
01:32cost of hurting human rights and biodiversity. While in Taiwan, these advocates spoke with
01:38representatives from Taiwan's government and Taiwanese companies operating in the nickel industry,
01:43urging them to update their practices. Taiwan's economy ministry appears receptive to the demands,
01:48but representatives say change could take time.
01:51Now, because we want to consider our companies'
01:54options. Taiwan's operations are a minority in these industrial parks in Indonesia, largely dominated by Chinese ventures. But advocates say better practices from Taiwanese firms are
01:59move forward to the century.
02:02Taiwan's operating are a minority in these industrial parks in Indonesia, largely dominated by Chinese ventures.
02:15Taiwanese operations are a minority in these industrial parks in Indonesia, largely dominated by Chinese ventures.
02:22But advocates say better practices from Taiwanese firms and more oversight by overseas investment bureaus can still make a difference in the industry.
02:29They've already seen some European companies cancel investments in the parks after weighing environmental costs.
02:35We hope that international investment do not rely on the low standard of the Indonesia regulation on protection of workers' safety and health problems.
02:52With demand for nickel not going anywhere, these advocates will have a lot more work ahead of them
02:57as they speak up for the health and safety of their communities and try to shift global regulations.
03:02Joseph Wu, Scott Huang and Tiffany Wong in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.
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