The seventh Environmental Im-pact Assessment Committee came under fire during its very first meeting yesterday, with environmentalists accusing its members of being heavily biased toward business interests.
Green Party Taiwan Secretary-General Pan Han-shen (
disguised
Fang Chien (方儉), secretary-general of the Green Consumers' Foundation, said that the five true environmentalists on the committee had been replaced by Democratic Progressive Party "troops" disguised as academics and experts.
These people, Fang said, intended to push through a series of controversial projects.
He said the committee would offer up Taiwan's environment to Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
Fang said the inspiration for the funeral theme had come from committee member James Lee (
Fang said that the "rubber stamp" committee shouldn't waste public funds pretending to deliberate, and instead just go ahead and give approval to the projects.
Protesters brought baskets of flowers and read obituaries at the "funeral" demonstration, saying that "environmental assessment is dead."
professional
Members of the committee, meanwhile, were adamant that they would act according to their professionalism and conscience.
EPA Minister Winston Dang (陳重信) presided over the first committee meeting, saying that in the next two years it would strive toward professionalism, efficiency and simplicity while strengthening policy communication and its legal system.
He said that the EPA was considering commissioning private consulting companies to assess certain cases before being sent back to the committee for deliberation.
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
President William Lai (賴清德) is expected to announce a new advanced “all-domain” air defense system to better defend against China when he gives his keynote national day speech today, four sources familiar with the matter said. Taiwan is ramping up defense spending and modernizing its armed forces, but faces a China that has a far larger military and is adding its own advanced new weapons such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and a huge array of missiles. Lai is expected to announce the air defense system dubbed “Taiwan Dome” in his speech this morning, one of the sources said. The system
RSS