Activists and lawmakers yesterday called on the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) to halt a review of a controversial resort project at Shanyuan Bay (杉原灣) in Taitung County, saying the developer is trying to bulldoze the project without the consent of local Aboriginal communities before the development site is officially recognized as a reserve area.
The Shanyuan Palm Beach Resort (杉原棕櫚濱海渡假村) is the largest development project on the east coast, with a 26-hectare development area — 4.3 times the size of the controversial Miramar Resort Hotel project in Shanyuan Bay, whose environmental approval the court revoked last month.
The EPA suspended the review of the Palm Beach project in July last year, saying the project’s competent authorities — the Tourism Bureau and the Construction and Planning Agency — should clarify the project’s potential conflicts with the Coastal Zone Management Act (海岸管理法), which stipulates the establishment of nationwide coastal reserves by next year.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The EPA’s environmental impact assessment of the Palm Beach project, which is scheduled for today, is once again set to be held amid controversy, with activists calling for the agency to halt the review until coastal reserves and traditional Aboriginal territories are officially zoned.
Lin Shu-ling (林淑玲), a member of an Amis community living in the bay area, said the developer has repeatedly claimed that the development site is not located within traditional Aboriginal territories to circumvent the Indigenous Peoples Basic Act (原住民基本法), which requires developers of a project involving Aboriginal territories to acquire the consent of Aboriginal residents before submitting the project application.
Lin read a statement from the Amis community which said the development would have a dramatic impact on the community and the environment, and the project could not proceed without their consent.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Aboriginal communities should also be entitled to lead the planning of coastal reserves, the statement said.
New Power Party Legislator Kawlo Iyun Pacidal rejected the developer’s claim that the bay area is not an Aboriginal territory, saying the Amis have named different locations of the area that do not even have names in Chinese, suggesting Aboriginal people have lived there for hundreds of years.
“The state cannot invade lands belonging to Aborigines in the name of development, and Aborigines’ rights to know must always be protected. The Council of Indigenous Peoples should weigh in on the case and help Aborigines instruct the government in designating traditional territories,” she said.
“The bay is also known as an important turtle nesting beach and coral reef habitat, and development can harm the local ecosystem, especially when the developer illegally started construction before submitting a project plan. How can we trust such a developer to protect the environment?” Citizen of the Earth consultant Tsai Chung-yueh (蔡中岳) said.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
RSS