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.
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
DEFENSIVE EDGE: The liaison officer would work with Taiwan on drones and military applications for other civilian-developed technologies, a source said A Pentagon unit tasked with facilitating the US military’s adoption of new technology is soon to deploy officials to dozens of friendly nations, including Taiwan, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is to send a representative to collaborate with Taiwan on drones and military applications from the semiconductor industry by the end of the year, the British daily reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “Drones will certainly be a focus, but they will also be looking at connecting to the broader civilian and dual-use ecosystem, including the tech sector,” one source was