An inspection by the Endemic Species Research Institute this week found that CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) was not living up to promises it made last month to lessen the destruction of an algal reef along its gas pipeline construction project off the coast of Taoyuan County.
The institute sent its findings to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which had given CPC until May 31 to propose measures to protect the reef.
The institute's inspection found that the size of the construction area was far larger than CPC had promised it would be. At least 1.1 hectares of the reef had been dug up or covered in gravel and can never be restored, while the supports for the 10m-wide construction platform have caused additional destruction, inspectors said.
CPC had pledged to shrink the width of the construction area along the line from 12m to 4m.
Inspectors this week sad that workers dumped the sediment that was dug up next to the line, covering another 8m of reef along it.
CPC Chairman Pan Wenent (潘文淡) said the company would "adopt" the reef after construction was finished and that company officials visited the Institute of Oceanography at National Taiwan University to enlist the help of reef expert and professor Dai Chang-feng (戴昌鳳).
Dai expressed enthusiasm about helping but warned restoration efforts might have limited results because of water pollution had not been alerted about the reef during the environmental impact review in 2004, adding that the issue had only been brought to their attention after construction had begun.
It said the reef was the nation's largest algal reef and had already suffered severe damage from industrial pollution.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS