Promoting environmental education, stressing environmental harmony and adopting incentive strategies will be major ways for the Environmental Protection Admini-stration (EPA) to tackle problems, EPA head Chang Juu-en (張祖恩) said yesterday.
Chang received an official seal yesterday from Minister without Portfolio Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮), who said Chang had been praised by legislators and the public for his experience in the environmental sector.
Chang, who grew up on a farm, said environmental considerations are an important part of rural life.
He said education is the cornerstone of environmental protection. In order to promote environmental protection in daily life, Chang said, the EPA will focus on the establishment of an environmental education law (環境教育法) to embed environmental values, concepts, knowledge and skills into school education and social education.
With a doctorate in civil engineering from Tohoku University in Japan, Chang, 52, has been in the field of environmental engineering for nearly three decades.
In April 2001, when Chang was associate dean of the College of Engineering at National Cheng Kung University, he was invited by former EPA chief Hau Lung-bin (
Hau resigned early last month after Premier Yu Shyi-kun rejected his proposal to disallow referendums on projects if an environmental impact assessment had already been conducted.
The subsequent confrontation between public opinion and environmental professionalism was attributed to Hau's resignation.
Meanwhile, facing nationwide demonstrations against waste incineration, Chang said the policy would be slightly adjusted and the principle of having one incinerator in each jurisdiction could be overturned.
"Regional cooperation on waste management will be promoted in order to cancel the establishment of one or two incinerators," Chang said.
In addition, he said incentives would be adopted for the industrial sector to prevent environmental pollution and promote pollution-control technologies.
"Taiwan might be not only an R&D base for environmental technologies but also an exporter, further contributing to global sustainable development," Chang said.
GENSLER SURVEY: ‘Economic infrastructure is not enough. A city needs to inspire pride, offer moments of joy and foster a sense of belonging,’ the company said Taipei was named the city with the “highest staying power” in the world by US-based design and architecture firm Gensler. The Taiwanese capital earned the top spot among 65 cities across six continents with 64 percent of Taipei respondents in a survey of 33,000 people saying they wanted to stay in the city. Rounding out the top five were Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (61 percent), Singapore (59 percent), Sydney (58 percent) and Berlin (51 percent). Sixth to 10th place went to Monterrey, Mexico; Munich, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Vancouver; and Seoul. Cities in the US were ranked separately, with Minneapolis first at
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
RSS