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Tzu Chi construction plans panned by environmentalists

Environmental group representatives and a Taipei City councilor yesterday jointly called on the city government to stop the review of a construction project in an environmental conservation area submitted by the Tzu Chi Foundation.

Democratic Progressive Party Councilor Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青), along with eight environmental and community groups, expressed their opposition to Tzu Chi's plan to build a volunteer training center in an environmental conservation area in Neihu, (內湖區) Taipei.

The Tzu Chi Foundation is a religious organization involved in aid programs all over the world.

opposition

The foundation purchased a piece of land in Neihu more than 10 years ago. Since then, the foundation's various attempts to construct buildings for different purposes on the land have been halted due to environmental concerns and opposition from local residents, according to a chronology released by Hsu's office.

Recently, Tzu Chi applied to change the land's listing from "environmental conservation" area to "social welfare park."

The city government's Department of Urban Development (DUD) is to review the application in a meeting today.

"[Tzu Chi's] land in Neihu is located on a watershed bounded in the west by a residential area, and in the north by hill slopes, which ? makes it completely unsuitable for development," Chou Tung-han (周東漢), director of the Society of Wilderness, told the press conference.

A watershed is a location to which all nearby water flows; any construction on a watershed may cause flooding and other problems as the natural water flows would be blocked, Chou explained.

"In fact, the land that Tzu Chi purchased was created by filling-in a lake," he added.

local resident

Chen Tien-tzu (陳添賜), a local resident and vice president of a community group, backed Chou's claim.

"We have been troubled by flooding ever since the lake was filled in 1978," Chen said, adding his concern that flooding may become more severe if the construction project were to be approved.

"The [city] government promised to include a good soil and water conservation plan in the construction project? but I wouldn't trust anyone to guarantee that," Chen said.

Wen Ping-yuan (溫柄原), former secretary-general of the Green Party, urged the DUD to stop reviewing Tzu Chi's application immediately, and have a complete review of the city's environmental conservation policy instead.

When asked to respond, the DUD declined to comment, saying only that it would make a response after a meeting to review the application today.
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