Residents joined environmental organizations at the Songshan Tobacco Factory in Taipei yesterday to protest the removal of trees to make way for construction of the Taipei Dome.
The protesters said that more than 100 of the 384 trees moved in the early phases of construction had died and accused the Taipei City government along with construction contractors of negligence.
Production at the tobacco factory, which occupies about 18 hectares in Xinyi District (信義), stopped in 1998 and parts of the site have since been designated a historical site by the municipal government.
In 2002, the Executive Yuan said the site would be used for the Taipei Dome.
The complex will feature an indoor 40,000-seat stadium, hotels, department stores, a shopping center and an office building. Farglory Dome, the operator of the build-operate-transfer contract, said the site will also include an ecological park and cultural center.
However, Arthur Yo (游藝), an organizer of the protest, said the community hopes the entire site would instead be turned into a park and a preserve — something a city like Taipei desperately needs.
Standing at the foot of a large, withered tree that organizers said died because of neglect by the authorities, Yo said the municipal government had paid little attention to the well-being of residents and environmental protection while pandering to the interests of large corporations.
He said the trees should be kept for future generations to enjoy.
Yo was later joined by residents holding signs that read: “We want parks, not the Taipei Dome.”
The Taipei Dome project has been marked by controversy since the Control Yuan demanded earlier this year that the city government and the contractor fix 39 problems with the project, including changing subcontractors and the design of the stadium. Construction had been scheduled to begin earlier this year.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for
RSS