The Maokong Gondola, which cost more than NT$1 billion (US$30 million) to build and was plagued with problems throughout its construction, began operation in July last year. News that the system, after little more than a year in operation, is on the brink of being closed down will probably be difficult for the public to handle.
Therefore, at a time when reports on former president Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) detention fill our newspapers, there has still been a lot of discussion about the Maokong Gondola and who should be held responsible for the problems it is facing. This shows that the tourist and recreational facility run by the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) is still newsworthy.
While many writers have covered issues such as how tourism will be affected in the surrounding area if the Maokong Gondola ceases to run and how the cable car's initial construction bypassed an environmental impact assessment, few have been able to identify the real problems or offer solid, cutting analyses.
The entrance examination for the master's program at Kainan University's Department of Tourism and Hospitality two years ago included a question in which students were asked to discuss how the developers of the gondola should go about safeguarding the system's quality, passenger safety, nearby environmental resources and carry out ecological protection and risk management while promoting its use. While the majority were able to discuss the issue using their specialized knowledge, they were unable to get to the heart of the matter and make a penetrating criticism of the problems affecting the Maokong Gondola.
The main reason behind the plan to build the gondola was the former Cabinet's 2002 policy to double tourism by this year. The main problem was that, at the time when the former Cabinet rushed through its policy, no assessments on the impact of government policy on the environment were carried out, as required by Section 2 of Article 4 and Article 26 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (環境影響評估法).
Taipei City Government then followed in the footsteps of the national government and tried to devise ways of getting around the assessment when constructing the gondola, which is obviously a form of mass transportation, by saying that instead it was a "tourism and recreational" facility. In fact, the original plans for the gondola stated that one of its major goals was to improve the traffic situation in the Muzha (木柵) area and, after it became operational, the gondola was managed by TRTC.
By calling it a "tourism and recreational" facility, the city government managed to get around the strict environmental assessments required for mass transportation systems. The city government even used a letter of explanation from the Council of Agriculture to bypass the stipulations of the Building Act (建築法), so it did not need to apply for the various building permits or carry out proper soil and water conservation measures. It is this that led to the current difficulties.
The situation the gondola now faces is not something Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) can solve by saying that his predecessor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) should not be held responsible for the gondola's faulty T16 support pillar. The gondola is a very serious issue and not something Ma can choose to ignore by refusing to answer questions on it and ignoring the public's concern.
The gondola is a shambles and Ma owes us all a sincere apology. The premier, who did not put enough thought into the rash promotion of the plan to double tourism, also needs to apologize for the damage that has been done to sustainable tourism.
Simon Wen is associate professor and chairman of Kainan University's Department of Tourism and Hospitality.
TRANSLATED BY DREW CAMERON
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