The Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation yesterday announced that it would retract its proposed development plan to set up a logistics center and workshops for disaster relief in a geologically sensitive protected area in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖), while saying that it would make public all records about donations by its followers and how the money is spent.
Tzu Chi deputy chief executive Wang Tuan-cheng (王端正) told a news conference in Hualien that the foundation is “deeply unnerved” by the controversy sparked by the development plan and would retract its proposal to rezone a 4.4 hectare plot until society could reach a consensus on the issue.
Environmentalists say that the proposed site is located on a former pond which the foundation illegally reclaimed, increasing the chances of flooding in nearby farmland.
Photo: CNA
In addition, potential dip slopes are present in the area, which could lead to landslides, they say.
To promote environmental protection, Tzu Chi would cooperate with the Taipei City Government and seek advice on how to care for the protected area, Wang said.
Furthermore, Tzu Chi would restructure itself by inviting reputable individuals to serve as members of its board of directors to monitor and improve the foundation’s operations, he said.
Foundation deputy chief executive Lin Pi-yu (林碧玉) said Tzu Chi would make information about donations available online from Friday, while expenditure would be made public starting from Wednesday next week.
Lin made the announcement after media personalities Clara Chou (周玉蔻) and Jimmy Wang (汪潔民) last week accused Tzu Chi of pocketing donations, including a NT$1.5 billion (US$47.1 million) sum from its emergency reserve to purchase real estate.
Stock analyst Huang Shih-tsung (黃世聰) alleged that the foundation misappropriated funds it acquired for disaster relief to purchase bonds and stock.
Environmental activists criticized Tzu Chi’s announcement.
Treasure Our Land, Taiwan secretary-general Lin Tzu-lin (林子淩) said Tzu Chi is trying to buy time to gather the opinions of those who are in favor of the project and that it still intends to develop the protected area.
“What is the point in vowing to publish its accounts when there is so much confusion about its past dealings? Besides, it failed to respond to accusations it bought stock using donations,” Lin said.
In a press release, Taipei Deputy Mayor Charles Lin (林欽榮) expressed his thanks to Tzu Chi for proactively resolving years of controversy surrounding the development proposal.
He said the city government would send the withdrawal documents to the Taipei Urban Planning Commission as soon as they were received, expressing his hope that the land could become part of a gradual restoration of the ecology of Dahu (大湖).
Additional reporting by Abraham Gerber
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
BEIJING’S ‘PAWN’: ‘We, as Chinese, should never forget our roots, history, culture,’ Want Want Holdings general manager Tsai Wang-ting said at a summit in China The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時媒體集團) for making comments at the Cross-Strait Chinese Culture Summit that it said have damaged Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that it would investigate if the group had colluded with China in the matter and contravened cross-strait regulations. The council issued a statement after Want Want Holdings (旺旺集團有限公司) general manager Tsai Wang-ting (蔡旺庭), the third son of the group’s founder, Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), said at the summit last week that the group originated in “Chinese Taiwan,” and has developed and prospered in “the motherland.” “We, as Chinese, should never
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying
INDO-PACIFIC REGION: Royal Navy ships exercise the right of freedom of navigation, including in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, the UK’s Tony Radakin told a summit Freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region is as important as it is in the English Channel, British Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin said at a summit in Singapore on Saturday. The remark came as the British Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, is on an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region as head of an international carrier strike group. “Upholding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and with it, the principles of the freedom of navigation, in this part of the world matters to us just as it matters in the