Inappropriate civil construction carried out by the government to prevent damage caused by violent waves to coastal areas in eastern counties, including Hualien and Taitung, are harming not only gorgeous scenery but also precious ecological systems, legislators and environmentalists said yesterday.
At a press conference held at the Legislative Yuan, conservationists from the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union's Hualien chapter displayed photos showing significant changes to the well-known scenic spot, Seven Star Beach in Hualien.
The photographs were taken before and after construction of a 32m artificial structure composed of wave-killing tetrapods, designed to break up wave action, and irregularly stacked boulders.
PHOTO: OFFICE OF LEGISLATOR EUGENE JAO
Environmentalists said that the NT$8.8 million construction pro-ject was launched last month even though no scientific evidence supporting its necessity was available.
"It is just one of many disappointing cases, which are carried out to satisfy greedy local political figures rather than to protect the coastline," said Chung Pao-chu (鍾寶珠), head of the chapter.
Tsai Wan-kung (
According to DPP legislator Eugene Jao (趙永清), the government spent NT$2.36 billion building 8,566 5m high wave-killing tetrapods in Hualien County. About 85 percent of wave-killing tetrapods in Taiwan are built in eastern Hualien and Taitung counties.
"Carrying out these construction projects, which are depleting the national treasury and destroying natural resources in eastern Taiwan, is contradictory to all our resolutions to promote sustainable development," Jao said.
WRA officials said that increasing development and population growth have left coastal areas more vulnerable to a variety of hazards, including huge waves. WRA statistics show that along Taiwan's 1,500km-long coastline, 50km has been reinforced by wave-killing tetrapods and an additional 500km by breakwaters.
The construction at Seven Star Beach, scheduled to be completed in August, was halted last week due to strong local opposition.
WRA Deputy Chen Shen-hsien (陳伸賢) said that planting vegetation or establishing windbreaking forests might be ways to mitigate damage to the coastline.
"We will do our best to communicate with residents, showing our sincerity toward not only flood-disaster prevention but also coastal protection," Chen said.
Scientific researchers also urged the government to review the project and take biodiversity into account.
"In Hualien, we've seen a rapid drop in the number of crabs in coastal areas. This can be attributed to the environmentally-unfriendly constructions that are erected to prevent damage by huge waves," said Jeng Ming-shiou (鄭明修), a zoologist at Academia Sinica.
Chiau Wen-yan (
"We have to respect the dynamic equilibrium in nature, and try to find out how artificial structures might damage the natural coastline," Chiau said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS