Aboriginals from Hsinchu County yesterday expressed strong opposition to a proposal to build a waste incinerator in their township, saying that garbage left by visitors to the Shei-Pa National Park (
At a public meeting called at the Legislative Yuan by Walis Pelin (
A thriving tourism industry brings the peaceful Aboriginal township much more garbage than it produces itself. It also brings traffic accidents, which residents fear might increase with the installation of the incinerator and the large trucks that will travel in and out of Wufeng to supply it.
At the meeting yesterday, the Aboriginals sang high-spirited songs to demonstrate their determination to resist dioxin pollution from which, they say, they would suffer if the incinerator were installed.
The residents believe it unreasonable to build a waste incinerator to process garbage left by visitors to the national park.
"It violates the principles of environmental justice if local Aboriginal tribes have to be responsible for managing waste generated by visitors to Shei-Pa National Park," they said in a news release.
In addition, the residents argued that dioxin emitted from the incinerator might pollute rivers running through the township, which were the main sources of water for the Pao-er Reservoir (保二水庫).
Officials from the Environmental Protection Administration promised to investigate whether the local government or local township office had properly communicated with residents on the project.
According to officials from the administration's Bureau of Solid Waste Management, a project to establish small-scale waste incinerators in remote areas has been underway since 1994. According to the law, a project to establish a waste incinerator to treat less than 15 tonnes of waste a day need not be preceded by an environmental impact assessment.
Walis Pelin, however, asked administration officials to consider whether there was another alternative to building the incinerator in Wufeng township.
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
‘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
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS