With the appointment of the new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) minister still pending, the nation's environmentalists have expressed different opinions.
Saying that a new minister may be chosen with one eye on next year's presidential election, Green Formosa Front secretary-general Wu Tung-jye (吳東傑) yesterday hoped the change would enable the agency to stand on its own two feet, instead of being just an endorser of projects handed down by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Specifically, Wu urged the EPA to quickly resolve controversies surrounding several development projects, including the Suhua Freeway and the Formosa Group's steel plant.
guardian
"To a certain extent, Chang Kow-lung [
EPA minister Chang Kwo-lung officially resigned along with other Cabinet officials last Wednesday after serving at the position for approximately two years.
appointment
The Executive Yuan announced yesterday it had appointed DPP Legislator Winston Dang (
Tu Wenling (杜文苓), chair of the Taiwan Environmental Action Network, said the environmental group's concern was not so much the appointment of a new EPA minister, as the Executive Yuan's environmental policies in the future -- whether it would focus more on sustainable development or simply curry favor with large corporations.
disappointing
"The Executive Yuan's performance has been disappointing in the past," Tu said.
"The Executive Yuan has already set its own agenda," she said. "It would often blame EPA committee members for their failure to pass environmental impact reviews for certain projects."
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
The presence of Taiwanese politicians at China’s military parade tomorrow would send the wrong message to Beijing and the international community about Taiwan’s sovereignty and democracy, a national security official said yesterday. China is to hold the parade tomorrow to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. By bringing together leaders of “anti-West” governments such as Russia, North Korea, Iran and Belarus, the parade aims to project a symbolic image of an alliance that is cohesive and unbending against Western countries, the national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu
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
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