In light of numerous typhoon disasters in recent years, the Ministry of the Interior has drafted a coastline law in an effort to better care for land restoration and conservation.
The draft proposes having the nation’s coastline divided into “preserved areas” and “protected areas,” and that a special unit should be set up to screen coastal developments from a preservationist point of view.
According to an official with the ministry’s Construction and Planning Agency, the spirit of the draft law is to set up a special governmental unit that could preview every coastal -development project with the goal of -preserving coastal geology.
The drafted coastline law would require central authorities to compile basic databases for coastal areas to facilitate research and coastal management, the official said.
Under the proposed law, the nation’s coastal areas would be divided into first and secondary level protected areas.
The first level would prohibit change to the shoreline or restrict uses to those that would keep it in its natural state, said the official, unless approval for other uses is granted by the central authorities.
Secondary level status would designate areas as “buffer zones,” where violations that cause a -natural disaster to occur because of alterations to the natural environment would be punishable with fines of up to NT$600,000 and up to 10 years in prison.
Meanwhile, the draft proposes that areas suffering from erosion, saltwater encroachment and land subsidence be categorized as national geological revitalization areas, requiring them to have a protection plan. The entire coastal management plan, preservation plan and protection plan would be reviewed every five years, the official said.
As it is currently written, the draft act would empower local governments to remove any buildings or land modifications that are obstacles to the implementation of the law. It also proposes granting the Council of Agriculture the power to abolish fishing rights, as well as empowering the Ministry of Economic Affairs to halt all mining and quarrying activities in coastal areas.
However, Lin Tsung-yi (林宗儀), an assistant professor at National Taiwan Normal University, has doubts about the effectiveness of the act, should it be passed.
While the shoreline is public property, there is also private property where hotels are built, such as in Kenting (墾丁), he said.
“It’s like they own the whole beach,” he said. “In such cases, how would the government intercede and manage the coast?”
Some officials also doubt that the proposed bill would make it through the legislature, noting that since its initial draft in the 1990s, it has not won the support of the lawmakers.
Conflict of interest and the noncommittal attitudes of the legislators means the draft only has a slim chance of being put up for review, an official said.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
Passengers on Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) will be required to use headphones and make phone calls in gangways under new “quiet travel” rules starting Sept. 22. THSR Chairman Shih Che (史哲) told media that THSR will run a three-month promotional campaign to ensure widespread adoption of the new rules. Those repeatedly ignoring the guidance face the potential termination of their transport contract, which can result in them getting escorted off the train, according to THSR. Shih shared his hope to cultivate an environment conducive to rest and reading for the train’s passengers, stating that these changes aim to “promote self-discipline” among passengers