Dozens of residents of Yuanli Township (苑裡), Miaoli County, yesterday rallied in front of the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) against a wind turbine project they say is too close to their homes and violates the minimum distance required by the environmental impact assessment (EIA).
Some held piglets, others were accompanied by dogs on leashes and some held white banners with messages such as “the low-frequency electromagnetic radiation and noise from the wind turbines damages health.” The protesters shouted. “EPA, toughen up! Return the land to us.”
They said they were concerned that turbines built so close to their homes would even affect their pigs and dogs and that they would be hit if the turbines fell over.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Chen Hui-ming (陳薈茗), a representative of the local self-help association against the turbines, said that the German wind-power firm InfraVest GmbH had violated the safety distance that it had guaranteed in the EIA report.
“The Environmental Protection Administration is neglecting its duty to monitor the project and make sure it is done properly,” Chen said.
There were many flaws in the EIA’s evaluation, such as the company neglecting its responsibility to communicate with nearby residents, but the EPA still allowed the project to win EIA approval, Chen said.
The residents also questioned whether the EPA’s equipment was able to accurately measure the distance between the turbines and their homes, Chen said.
Environmental Inspection Deputy Inspector-General Yang Su-er (楊素娥) said the EPA’s new equipment, purchased this year, was capable of precisely measuring the proper distances for this project.
The protesters later went to the Control Yuan to present a petition asking for an investigation into whether the EPA and the Bureau of Energy had ignored their duties to ensure that InfraVest builds the turbines according to safety principles.
The association staged a protest at the EPA two weeks ago, asking it to fine InfraVest for violating required safety distance requirement and to reconduct the EIA.
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
RSS