The Environmental Protection Administration’s (EPA) Environment Impact Assessment general assembly yesterday approved an amended plan for a submarine power cable between Penghu and Yunlin counties and the second phase of the development project at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT’s A7 Station.
The airport MRT station plan was proposed by the Ministry of the Interior to develop the area into a new community composed mainly of two sections — an industrial district and an affordable housing district.
MRT A7 Station Development Project Self-Help Group chairwoman Hsu Yu-hung (徐玉紅) said during the assembly that the majority of the development area is located on sloping land, which includes a landfill site and a seismic zone, and it is also close to a source of water for existing residential areas, so local residents are worried that the project may lead to landslides or affect water quality.
The Control Yuan chastised the A7 Station project over an inadequate administrative procedure after it opened bidding for land in the area before it had completed land expropriation, she said, adding that the project is in violation of basic human rights protected by the Constitution.
However, the committee members found that the environmental impact was within acceptable levels and so there was no need to initiate a second round of environmental impact reviews.
Hung Chia-hung (洪嘉宏), director-general of the Construction and Planning Agency’s Urban and Rural Development Branch, said the agency has held meetings in the community to explain issues and answer questions from local residents and that it would conform to a low-density development principle, with the affordable housing district accounting for only about 1.27 percent of the total development area.
He also said that the project would take into account water and soil conservation needs.
Another project discussed in the meeting was the proposal by Taiwan Power Co to amend the route of an underwater cable connecting Kouhu Township (口湖) in Yunlin County on Taiwan’s western coast and Jianshan (尖山) in Penghu.
The approximately 66km cable — 58.85km underwater and 7.47km on land — for transmitting electricity between the two sides, was approved by the administration in 2008.
However, as Kouhu residents expressed concern that the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the high-voltage cable could cause health issues, Taipower proposed an amendment to reroute the cable, as well as bury it within the vicinity of the township.
During the meeting, members of a self-help association from Kouhu said the underground cable would follow a road on which local elementary and junior-high students walk to school every day, so they are worried that the electromagnetic radiation would cause health issues for the students.
Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華), founder and chairperson of the Taiwan Electromagnetic Radiation Hazard Protection and Control Association, said electromagnetic radiation is listed as a Group 2B carcinogen (possibly carcinogenic to humans) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and long-term exposure to electromagnetic radiation of 3 to 4 milligauss increases the occurrence rate of leukemia in children by two times.
Residents and environmentalists urged the EIA committee members not to approve the project unless Taipower could guarantee that electromagnetic radiation levels would not increase after the cable began operations.
Taipower said it would be technically difficult to achieve the protesters’ demands, but it promised to do its best to control electromagnetic radiation levels.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
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