Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Ltd., yesterday apologised for the recent inflammatory remarks by the firm’s public relations guru Chou Chun Fan that suggested local people couldn’t expect to maintain their local environment if they wanted to have a modern steel industry.

Fan bowed with other executives of the company during a news conference held on April 27 in Ha Tinh Province, saying that he was very sorry for his ‘careless’ statement which had made local people angry.

Chairing the conference, Hung Nghiep Formosa deputy general director Truong Phuc Ninh said he was very sorry that Fan's statement had badly affected the good relationship between the company and Vietnamese government and people.

"However, Chou Chun Fan is not our spokeperson on environmental issues," Ninh noted. "He is only a staff at the Hanoi office so what he said does not represent our views."

The company leader also said that Fan would be strictly punished for his improper statement.

While the authorities are struggling to deal with the mass fish deaths in the central coast, Chou Chun Fan, public relations director of Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Ltd., under the Taiwan's Formosa Group, Fan basically accused Vietnamese people of wanting the fruits of development without the pain of pollution.

His statement has been widely criticised by the public.

It is expected that the first results of the mass fish deaths in the four central provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue since early April will be announced this afternoon, April 27, at a conference held in Hanoi with the attendance of representatives from the four provinces.