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Taiwan health chief Yeh opposes plan to build tobacco plant in Miaoli  

Amid a row over a British company's plans to build a tobacco plant in a Miaoli township, Taiwan's Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan said yesterday that his agency is basically opposed to the project.

Yeh, minister of the Cabinet-level Department of Health (DOH), made the remarks while fielding questions on the issue from lawmakers at a legislative committee meeting.

He said although the DOH is not the agency in charge of the matter, in principle it is opposed to the tobacco plant construction plan because it goes counter to global anti-smoking trends.

The negative complications, such as public health and pollution problems, could outweigh the plant's job creation benefits, the minister said.

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