The environmental impact assessment review process for the Taipei Dome construction project was delayed until next month following a four-hour meeting, as several dozen environmental activists and local residents voiced concerns about the proposed complex’s impact on local traffic and the overall environment.
Taipei City’s Environmental Impact Assessment Review Committee has turned down the environmental impact assessment report three times since 2007. The fourth committee meeting held yesterday at the Taipei City Hall failed to finish the review process of the revised project plan after more than half of the 20 committee members left the meeting that was marked by disapproval from environmental activists and local residents.
“The size of the Taipei Dome in the revised plan only shrank 3 percent when compared with the original plan, which makes little difference to the negative impact on traffic and the environment. We want the city government to revoke the contract and stop the development project,” said Yu Yi (游藝), head of a civic group that is calling for the preservation of the factory site, during the committee meeting.
Photo: Lin Hsiang-mei, Taipei Times
Pan Pei-chun (潘佩君), the parent of a student at Taipei Municipal Guangfu Elementary School, which is next to the proposed site on the corner of Zhongxiao E Road and Guangfu S Road, said many parents at the school were concerned about the noise and pollution that would be caused by the construction.
Trucks going in and out of the construction site could also pose a danger to children, she added.
Farglory chairman Chao Teng-hsiung (趙藤雄), who attended the committee meeting, rejected the protesters’ claim that the building would have a negative impact on the environment and insisted that its revised Taipei Dome project, which lowered the building coverage ratio from 60 percent to 55 percent and offered more pedestrian space, would be an eco-friendly complex that would strike a balance between urban development and environmental protection.
“Building domes in downtown areas is a global trend and stopping the Taipei Dome development project should not be an option. The stalling of the project has become a joke and it’d be unbelievable if the project was denied,” he said while leaving the meeting.
Taipei City’s Department of Environmental Protection commissioner Wu Sheng-chong (吳聖忠) said the department would gather committee members together some time next month to complete the review process.
The proposed complex would include a 40,000-seat indoor stadium with surrounding shopping and residential districts. Construction is scheduled to begin in July if it passes the environmental impact assessment.
The group signed the contract with the city government in 2006 and plans to invest more than NT$23 billion (US$700 million) in the complex. Since then, ongoing protests from environmentalists and local residents have stalled the review process.
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
SIX SUBSIDIES: The monthly allowance for older farmers is to increase to NT$10,000, and NT$5,000 is to be given to homemakers under the national pension system, Lai said The government is to implement major welfare policies for disadvantaged groups, including raising the monthly allowance for older farmers to NT$10,000 and providing homemakers with NT$5,000 per month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks during a visit to Wangling Temple in Chiayi County, saying that the planned increases were being introduced amid economic growth and an increase in tax revenue. Touting a policy, in which the government plans to provide a monthly allowance of NT$5,000 for every child under the age of 18 in a bid to address Taiwan’s low birthrate, Lai said that if received for the
RSS