Environmental activists yesterday expressed doubts about a government plan to halve the size of a development project for the National Biotech Park at the 202 Arsenal in the Nangang District (南港) in Taipei City, saying it would still threaten an ecosystem that was carefully preserved for decades.
Writer Chang Hsiao-feng (張曉風) yesterday urged Academia Sinica to drop its plans to construct the biotech park at the 202 Arsenal, adding that the move was a wrongful deed akin to “stealing chickens from your neighbors,” a parable she quoted from the writings of Chinese philosopher Mencius (孟子).
The 70-year-old Chinese-language writer has been campaigning for the full abandonment of the development project to preserve wetlands in the area. Bowing down during a TV interview, Chang called on President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to spare the wetlands by keeping the status quo.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
“What he [Mencius] said is that stealing a chicken is wrong. It is wrong even if the thief says he only steals one chicken each month,” Chang said, adding that Academia Sinica was like a thief who likes to steal chickens from its neighbor — in this case, 202 Arsenal.
“This development project is plain wrong,” she said.
Academia Sinica only chose the property of the 202 Arsenal to build the Biotech Park as a matter of convenience because the arsenal is right next to the institution, she said.
“As the nation’s top research institution, Academia Sinica owns many plots of land,” she said. “Why does it have to be this place? Can’t they build it in Linkou (林口) in Taipei County instead?”
She said that the Ministry of National Defense did not have to relocate the arsenal, as doing so would cost billions of NT dollars.
Chang toured the area with reporters, government officials and experts recruited by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA). Aside from Chang, who was on her third visit, many were first-time visitors to the arsenal, which is a military restricted zone.
The ministry said the area frequently draws wildlife, including Formosan Blue Magpies. Visitors could also see several egrets flying around the meadows and ponds, an indication that the area was a well-preserved ecosystem.
Academia Sinica president Wong Chi-huey (翁啟惠) said on Monday the academic institution had made adjustments to the development plan. He said the area to be used by the project had been reduced from 9.6 hectares to 4 hectares, adding that construction would take place at the sites already used by the ministry to build factories and offices.
Under the revised plan, the total floor space for the biotech park would be reduced from the initial 247,500m² to 122,100 m². As a result, the construction costs would drop from NT$27.02 billion (US$859 million) to NT$22.28 billion.
In a briefing at the EPA yesterday, Wong shed light on why the institution had chosen this particular site.
“The research on the biotechnology is conducted separately by the Department of Health, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and National Science Council,” Wong said. “We can integrate the sources by placing all the facilities in one location.”
The location must be convenient for researchers, he said, adding that it would be difficult for them to carry out their work if they were far from the university, their families and their students.
Taiwan Green Party Secretary-General Pan Han-shen (潘翰聲) said an alarming message would be sent if the project’s environmental impact assessment passed the EPA evaluation.
“This [the project] is like the first domino, and once it falls, the next one in line will fall too,” said Pan, adding that Taipei City was planning to erect a 100 hectare corporate headquarters in the same area.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS