Despite growing concerns over landslides that could destroy Losheng (Happy Life) Sanatorium, allegedly caused by the construction of an MRT maintenance depot in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Sinjhuang District (新莊), Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) yesterday flatly rejected a request that the depot be relocated.
In a joint interview with the Taipei Times and its sister paper, the Chinese-language Liberty Times, Jiang said he has made it clear to Losheng Sanatorium preservationists that asking for the depot to be built on an alternative site is “basically out of the question,” considering the extent to which work has already been done.
However, “we are very serious” about safety concerns the construction could pose to the sanatorium and will proceed with the project “with extreme caution,” he said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Jiang said he has been reassured by five civil engineering academics, Public Construction Commission Minister Chen Chen-chuan (陳振川) and experts at the Taiwan Geotechnical Society that the construction, using a method known as “cut-and-cover,” would not lead to landslides on the hill on which the sanatorium is located.
Since construction was resumed at the site of the partially demolished sanatorium, cracks and sinkholes have appeared and grown larger, a problem that preservationists say amounts to an “impeding landslide crisis.”
The latest call for the problem to be addressed was made by movie director Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢), who recently donated NT$1 million (US$33,520) in prize money from the National Cultural Award to help finance the reconstruction of sanatorium, built in the 1920s to house people with Hansen’s disease (also known as leprosy).
Hou criticized the government for being “indifferent” to the problem at the award ceremony in the presence of the premier. Jiang declined to respond when he was asked for a comment by reporters afterwards.
Prior to that, students in the Youth Alliance for Losheng, who have long stood alongside the sanatorium’s residents, tried in vain to sit down with Jiang to give him the latest information on the landslide problem when he became premier in February.
Jiang said yesterday that he has a thorough understanding of the problem because he had met with the students when he was minister of the interior and vice premier.
“The last time I checked with the competent authorities, I was told that [the concern over landslides] is not an insurmountable problem,” he said.
Before entering politics, Jiang, then a political science professor at National Taiwan University, paid a visit to the sanatorium at the climax of the campaign to preserve the facility in a gesture of support for the campaign.
The construction of the Sinjhuang depot started in June 2002; a year later the first demolition of buildings at the sanatorium and some relocations took place.
After years of protests by conservationists, the Executive Yuan in 2007 came up with a plan, known as “the 530 plan,” to preserve 39 buildings and rebuild 10 elsewhere after construction of the depot had been completed. Construction of the depot was resumed in 2008, but the problems with cracks in the walls and sinkholes ensued.
A verdict handed down by Supreme Administrative Court on April 9 ordered a retrial at the Taipei High Administrative Court after a ruling in favor of Taipei Rapid Transit Corp in a lawsuit brought by preservationists demanding a halt to the construction.
Jiang said he supports conserving the remaining buildings at the sanatorium as laid out in the 530 plan as the preservation of an historical site ensures that future generations understand its particular history.
“Even the construction of the depot, right next to the sanatorium, will leave traces of history, that an issue arose here that is the tension between economic development and historical preservation, which would be worthy of our descendants’ remembrance,” he said.
On other topics, Jiang said the downward revision of GDP growth in the first quarter to 1.54 percent, from an earlier forecast of 3.26 percent, “came as a bit of surprise,” but he remains optimistic that GDP growth for the whole year could exceed 3 percent.
Jiang also said he is determined to overhaul the cash-strapped pension system to ensure the funds’ future solvency “for next generation.”
The Cabinet-proposed reform of the labor pension system, that sees most workers who retire after 30 years of service receive a monthly pension of less than NT$20,000, has been met with indignation, with labor groups taking to the streets yesterday to voice their opposition.
In response, Jiang termed the proposal a “moderate reform.”
“If you’re asking me if the reform will cause unbearable grief, then I don’t think so,” he said.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS