Environmental issues are set to be addressed at the next session of the Legislative Yuan, with some legislative newcomers active in the environmental movement expected to continue fighting for the cause in their new positions. But whether the new legislature will draw up regulations involving sustainable environmental development remains uncertain.
Although environmental issues were all but ignored during legislative campaigning, some incumbent lawmakers are also known for their concern for the environment, such as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislators Eugene Jao (趙永清), DPP Chiu Chuang-chin (邱創進) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Chung-hsiung (徐中雄).
They are all energetic lawmakers and members of the Council for the Promotion of Sustainable Development -- a group formed by lawmakers from across party lines to promote environmental issues. The group on Saturday lost some of its members, such as KMT Legislator Apollo Chen (
Su Jin-pin (
"Waste-management policies pertaining to incinerators and landfills for hazardous residues from incinerators will be thoroughly reviewed at the next session," Su said.
Last year, Lin led a demonstration in front of the Hsinchu County Government's offices to protest the building of an incinerator in Chupei, which demonstrators said would be a waste, because there was already an incinerator only 3km away in Hsinchu City. So far, the project has not been finalized.
Yin -- who began her bird conservation campaign in 1999, fighting against the local authority's land-excavation project in the natural habitat of the fairy pitta (八色鳥) in Linnei Township -- is also well known for her accusation about Yunlin County Commissioner Chang Jung-wei's (
Although some political observers attribute her success to the fact that Chang was arrested on the eve of the election, Yin said that the election results demonstrate the courage of many voters.
"Since I first stood up for the fairy pitta five years ago, I've only cared about environmental and social welfare issues, which are crucially important to needy residents," Yin said.
She said that about 60 percent of voters in Yunlin receive only middle-school education and that was why a vote-buying culture has flourished there for years.
Yin's persistent campaigning for bird conservation and environmental protection led her to the positions of village head in 2000, county councilwoman in 2002, and now lawmaker.
She said she was looking forward to working with future colleagues at the Council for the Promotion of Sustainable Development in order to keep questioning the government on policies on waste incineration and water-resources management.
One of Yin's reasons for opposing the building of the incinerator is that it would be built on a site just 1.8km from an area earmarked for the construction of a new water-treatment plant.
Yin stressed that she would call for careful management of the watershed of the Chuoshui River running through Yunlin. She said that artificial lakes might be necessary for future adjustment of water resources.
In addition to the devotion of newly elected lawmakers, two future DPP legislators-at-large, Wang To-far (王塗發) and Tien Chiou-chin (田秋堇), are also regarded as vigorous participants in the council.
Tien, who has been an environmentalist for decades, is well known for her involvement in the movement to establish the Chilan national park to preserve Taiwanese red and yellow cypress forests.
Wang, an economist and councilor with the Executive Yuan's National Council of Sustainable Development, said that the establishment of regulations for the promotion of renewable energy sources and a revision of the power industry were urgently needed.
"The Kyoto Protocol on limiting greenhouse gas emissions will take effect soon. Taiwan has no reason to keep ignoring energy issues," Wang said.
However, Wang said that he worries about the pan-blue alliance, whose attitude toward energy issues is too conservative to fit in with global trends stressing sustainable development.
Lai Wei-chieh (
"We are actually afraid to see a tendency for most lawmakers to regard boosting economic development as their top priority," Lai said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
RSS