The government yesterday “conditionally approved” an initial environmental assessment for a proposed national biotechnology research park near a Taipei wetland, despite criticism from environmentalists.
The project will be re--evaluated for final approval at another environmental assessment meeting, possibly next month at the earliest.
Yesterday was the third -meeting held by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) to review the project and environmental experts gave the project’s developer, Academia Sinica, 10 conditions to meet before they could fully approve the park.
The conditions included maintaining the ecosystem in the wetlands area, forming a committee to supervise the protection of the wetland, as well as obtaining green building credentials.
The proposed park would be located at the 202 Arsenal, an abandoned military facility in Taipei’s Nangang District (南港).
Academia Sinica president Wong Chi-huey (翁啟惠) said the nation’s top academic research body would factor in these conditions and produce a more detailed report on how to meet them.
Wong acknowledged that his organization has learned a lot from activists who were advocating for the preservation of the wetlands.
Wong expressed optimism that the project could receive final approval by June 10 and that it would be built by 2017.
Despite Academia Sinica’s assurances that it would protect the wetlands, environmental groups are doubtful, saying that once the ecosystem is damaged, projects to save it would be of no use.
“Let’s give these wetlands a break,” Chang Hsiao-feng (張曉風), a local writer who strongly opposes the project, said at the meeting yestersday. “It would be very easy to find another -location for the biotech park. Let this -ecosystem stay intact.”
The area has been previously described by Chang as “Taipei’s last plot of green land,” for which she has knelt in front of television cameras and begged for the preservation of the wetlands.
Liao Pen-chuan (廖本全), a professor in National Taipei University’s Department of Real Estate and Built Environment, said the park should not be built in Taipei because the capital is overcrowded.
He said Academia Sinica should set a good example and move the project to another area.
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of