Renovations at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 1 may be delayed as a Japanese architect and the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) have locked horns over a change in the design.
Last year, the CAA decided to launch a makeover project for the terminal, which has been in operation since 1979, recruiting Japanese architect Norihiko Dan to redesign it.
Under Dan’s design, the terminal would be covered by a glass curtain. Because of the new design, the terminal’s outdoor rain shelters would have to be removed, otherwise passengers would not see the glass curtain above.
The dispute began when Dan wanted to remove the pre-stressed beams of the terminal’s outdoor rain shelters.
To be on the safe side, the construction team conducted a test to see what needed to be done before removing the beam. They found that they would need six steel pillars to support the structure after removing just one beam from the rain shelters.
The CAA were concerned by the test results, as the outdoor rain shelters have a total of 34 beams. Because the beam removal project could disrupt passenger traffic, the CAA decided to stop the test and reconsider the plan to remove the pre-stressed beams. Upset by the CAA’s decision, Dan has asked to speak to Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) directly.
“Using a medical example, it is just like a patient who is ready to have his appendix removed and blood pressure measured. Because the person does not understand the kind of operation he is undertaking, he then decides not to have his blood pressure measured and gives up on the operation,” Dan said in an e-mail to the press.
Dan also held a press conference on Thursday night and said he had had difficulty communicating with Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) officials.
MOTC deputy minister Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) said the ministry was “surprised” that Dan had not communicated with the ministry officials first, taking the matter to the press instead, and said Mao was prepared to meet with him at 7pm on Thursday as Dan requested but Dan did not show up. Yeh said the incident showed a lack of communication on both sides, but defended the ministry’s decision.
“Our highest guiding principle in settling the dispute is passenger safety and convenience,” Yeh said.
While Dan proposed finishing the renovations within three-and-a-half years, the ministry has said the project must be completed within two years.
“In response, Dan said it would be a little bit difficult, but he did not say he couldn’t do it,” Yeh said.
CAA director general Ying Chen-pong (尹承蓬) said the CAA would clarify two things with Dan.
“We want to determine if removing the beams for the outdoor rain shelter would compromise the safety of the structure,” Ying said. “He also has to tell use how he proposes to protect travelers’ safety and keep traffic smooth when removing the beams.”
Ying added he disapproved of Dan’s behavior.
“We are owner of the house; do we not have the right to change the design of the house?” he said.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
RSS