President Ma Ying-jeou declared his stance on the controversial Kuokuang Petrochemical plant issue yesterday, saying that he does not support the construction project.

The announcement came one day after the environmental review panel failed to reach a final conclusion on the fate of the Kuokuang project, which infuriated many environmental groups.

To preserve the wetland of Dacheng in Changhua County, protesters shout out against the Kuokuang Petrochemical Plant development plan in front of the Environmental Protection Administration, asking it to immediately turn down the plan in the fifth review.

Once a winner of the sustainable development award presented by the Executive Yuan for its efforts to preserve the environment,

Changhua Environmental Protection Union says if the plan is passed, the award becomes useless.

Although environmentalists mobilize a lot of people to stage the protest, chairman of the Kuokuang Petrochemical Company Chen Bao-lang appears at the meeting, stressing the company's determination to embrace environmental protection.

The Environmental Protection Administration has arranged a two-day meeting to allow participants to voice their opinions, with the result estimated to come out tomorrow.

But besides fishermen in Changhua, Yunlin residents, who opposed the Sixth Naphatha Cracker Plant also join the protest at the site, hoping to block the development project of the petrochemical plant.