Representatives from environmental groups and local residents yesterday gathered in front of Taipei City Hall to present a petition saying that all the buildings on a plot of land purchased by the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation within an environmental conservation area in the city’s Neihu District (內湖) are illegal, a view that the city government said had some validity.
The Tzu Chi Foundation purchased a plot of land on the district’s Chengkong Road Sec 5, across from Dahu Park (大湖公園), and applied to the city government in 1997 to change the land’s status from a environmental conservation area to one that could be used for the construction of a 4.6 hectare “social welfare park.”
The foundation’s plans led to opposition from environmentalists and local residents over concerns that the fragile geological features of the site may not be appropriate for a large-scale development, possible water drainage problems and over fears that the case would become a bad example of giving over environmental conservation areas to development.
Photo: Chen Wei-tzu, Taipei Times
Shouting: “The city government should stop covering up for Tzu Chi, and Tzu Chi should stop its illegal practices,” the protesters urged the city government to admit that the buildings on the land are illegal constructions, and to put a stop to the foundation’s efforts to legalize them or to expand the development.
Neihu Environmental Conservation Area Protection Association chairperson Lee Jih-Ching (李日進) said that according to the city government’s land use regulations for environmental conservation areas, developments larger than 5,000m2 need to go through urban planning and renewal procedures, and construction of buildings more than 200m2 require approval from the city’s urban planning committee, but the foundation did not fulfill either of these requirements.
Pan Han-shen (潘翰聲) of Green Party Taiwan, said the city government should not neglect the fact that the existing buildings in the area are illegal and should take action accordingly.
Receiving the petition from the groups’ representatives, Construction Management Office deputy director Chen Huang-cheng (陳煌城) said: “According to our records, there are indeed illegal constructions in the area, but operations to tear them down are on hold.”
The city government passed an administrative order some years ago that allowed illegal constructions built before 1994 to be exempted from being torn down, Chen said, adding that the office would check whether there are new illegal constructions in the area within the next two weeks.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
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
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
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS