Activists demand Formosa Plastics Group shut steel unit in Vietnam

"Formosa: out of Vietnam", "We want the truth", chatted the protesters, most of whom were Vietnamese.

The Vietnamese government said in June that the 10.6 billion dollars steel project allowed toxic waste to enter the sea in one of Vietnam's biggest environmental disasters.

Formosa, one of the communist country's biggest investors, has pledged 500 million dollars in damages and admitted its steel plant caused massive fish deaths along a 200 km stretch of coastline in April.

"The secretive 'settlement' announced by the Hanoi government and Formosa on June 30 underscores the lack of transparency in the handling of the environmental disaster," said activist Duy Hoang.

"Formosa is not the only party in this incident. The Vietnamese authorities need to demonstrate greater transparency and release its investigative report," he said.

The disaster unleashed months of public anger on social media and on the streets of big Vietnamese cities.

Vietnamese environmental authorities said in July that they were working with local officials in the Ha Tinh province to investigate dry waste, belonging to the steel unit, that was found dumped on a residential farm.

Formosa is one of Taiwan's biggest conglomerates. Its listed units included Formosa Plastics Corp and Formosa Chemicals & Fiber Corp.