The environmental impact assessment (EIA) general assembly concluded that a road construction plan, which has sparked protests over a perceived threat to endangered leopard cats in Miaoli County, should be returned to an EIA specialists’ meeting for further review.
About 400 people gathered outside the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) building in Taipei yesterday afternoon to protest against the plan.
The protesters included environmental activists, civic groups, academics and many students and netizens who responded to a call made by the Taiwan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Taiwan SPCA) through Facebook, asking the public to help save the leopard cats by blocking the road construction plan.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
The planned 8.28km bypass road for Provincial Highway No. 13, stretching from Tongluo Township (銅鑼) to Sanyi Interchange of Freeway No. 1, first gained EIA approval in 2003, but after construction delays, the local government proposed an EIA review on amendments made to the plan.
Environmentalist Pan Han-shen (潘翰聲) said the planned road would cut through a very important habitat for the leopard cats.
Their population is estimated to be only between 400 and 600 in Taiwan, Pan said, adding that their remaining habitats in Miaoli County are being destroyed by several development projects.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
Kurtis Pei (裴家騏), a professor at National Pingtung University of Science and Technology’s Institute of Wildlife Conservation, said records from about 100 years ago showed the leopard cats were found everywhere in the nation, but research in the past decade showed that they can only be found in the lower mountainous areas of Miaoli and Nantou counties.
“Being threatened by many development projects, the leopard cats are fleeing in all directions, but they might not be able to find suitable new homes,” he said. “I believe the many transportation specialists can come up with better alternative plans to solve traffic problems without destroying the leopard cats’ habitats.”
Shanyi resident Yeh Chi-hao (葉旗豪) said the local government could expand Provincial Highway No. 13 or build more parking lots to solve traffic congestion problems that only occur on weekends, instead of constructing a bypass.
Hundreds of Miaoli residents, led by Sanyi Township (三義鄉) Mayor Hsu Wen-ta (徐文達), arrived at the EPA building to voice their support for the local government’s plan.
Just before the meeting began, Miaoli County Commissioner Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻) also arrived, prompting protesters to shout slogans such as “Liu Cheng-hung, step down,” and “Leopard cats don’t only belong to Sanyi, but to all of Taiwan.”
During the meeting, Liu said the local government has already planned a 40-hectare area as ecological compensation for the endangered animal, which “should be very helpful to the ecology.”
Liu said the local government would allocate a budget for species conservation, but “we need local development, because Shanyi is a township of tourism.”
The Forestry Bureau said its three-year research showed Miaoli has the largest leopard cat population, so it is not in favor of the construction project, but if the road is necessary, then an elevated road would be better because it would prevent habitat fragmentation.
A committee member asked whether the local government’s plan to set up tunnels as ecological corridors for leopard cats to move from one area to the other would be effective, because no study has proved the method’s effectiveness.
Another committee member asked whether the bypass would solve congestion problems for vehicles traveling to the area, because the road would go around the township.
After more than three hours of discussion, the meeting concluded that because the area is an important habitat for the endangered species and there was not enough research to show that the local government’s compensation measures would be effective, more discussion would be needed before a decision could be made.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
HOTEL HIRING: An official said that hoteliers could begin hiring migrant workers next year, but must adhere to a rule requiring a NT$2,000 salary hike for Taiwanese The government is to allow the hospitality industry to recruit mid-level migrant workers for housekeeping and three other lines of work after the Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposal by the Ministry of Labor. A shortage of workers at hotels and accommodation facilities was discussed at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee. A 2023 survey conducted by the Tourism Administration found that Taiwan’s lodging industry was short of about 6,600 housekeeping and cleaning workers, the agency said in a report to the committee. The shortage of workers in the industry is being studied, the report said. Hotel and Lodging Division Deputy Director Cheng
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
RSS