Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) Minister Stephen Shen (沈世宏) yesterday said the controversial Miramar Resort Village in Taitung County’s Shanyuan Bay (杉原灣) should be torn down, but that the decision was up to the Taitung County Government, based on regulations.
The Miramar Resort Village is a build-operate-transfer development project by Durban Development Co and the Taitung County Government. Construction began in 2004 on a 6 hectare area by the beach of Shanyuan Bay, even though it did not pass an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in advance as was required, leading to protests and lawsuits by local residents and environmental protection groups.
Last week, the Supreme Administrative Court passed a verdict on a lawsuit by civic groups who sued the Miramar Resort Village for violating regulations. The ruling determined the project was illegal and must halt its construction.
At a meeting of the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) said the resort was “clearly” illegal, a decision confirmed by the court, so it should be torn down before developers apply for a new EIA.
The development process was flawed from the beginning, starting with the local government giving a construction permit to the developer to construct the buildings within an area only slightly smaller than 1 hectare to avoid having to pass an EIA, Tien said. Tien said the developer was now applying to the local government for an EIA on the 6 hectare area, but the EPA should order the resort torn down and have the EIA done by the central government.
The EPA asked the local government to redo an EIA when it discovered the developers had divided up the land to avoid the EIA many years ago, Shen said. However, Shen said that according to the law, the competent authority was still the local government, not the central administration.
Following Tien’s questions, DPP Legislator Chen Chieh-ju (陳節如) asked the minister how the EPA would deal with the case.
“I think the Taitung County Government should act according to the verdict, because the content of the verdict is clear,” Shen said. “Basically, I support tearing it down, but it should be done according to Ministry of the Interior regulations.”
Asked whether he would call the Taitung County commissioner to express his views, Shen said the commissioner had already heard several opinions from different parties and groups in the past few days and did not need his call.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS