The Greater Taichung Government has been accused by environmental groups of pursuing a cable-car project for the sole benefit of certain construction companies, endangering human life and the destroying the environment.
When complete, the project would link the Guguan region (谷關) to Dasyueshan National Forest Recreation Area (大雪山) by running a cable car over the summit of Pochinchia Mountain (波津加).
At 5,790m, the project would be the longest cable-car route ever, according to former Greater Taichung deputy mayor Hsiao Chia-chi (蕭家淇).
Hsiao added that a one-way trip would take an estimated 18 minutes, 52 seconds.
However, Green Formosa Front standing director Lin Chang-mao (林長茂) said that the area is unstable and highly prone to landslides.
Some of the 11 tower bases holding the cable lines in place have been placed near spots of evident headward erosion, Lin said, referring to a type of erosion that lengthens a stream, valley or gully at its origin and also enlarges its drainage basin due to the stream flow.
Lin questioned how the government planned on performing rescues in the tight, narrow mountain paths in the event of a landslide.
Environmental advocate Lin Tzu-ling (林子凌) said the government’s own assessment report indicated clear understanding of the project’s negative impact on the environment and that therefore the government was being highly irresponsible.
Lin said the assessment report stated: “Geological structure is extremely fragile after the earthquake and typhoons in the area, which is littered with loose earth and rocks. In addition, this is a high-altitude area and surrounded by sites of previous landslides that await restoration efforts. The area’s environment would be affected if the cable car stations were built.”
The earthquake and typhoon mentioned were the Sept. 21, 1999, earthquake and typhoon Mindulle in 2004.
There would also be a greater chance of lightning strikes at high altitude and mountain fogs also pose a natural danger to construction, Lin said.
The Greater Taichung Government suffered a credibility hit in outsourcing construction on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis, but at the time, it promised developers that they would be offered chances to build subsidiary facilities, Lin said.
According to the Act for the Promotion of Private Participation in Infrastructure Projects (促進民間參與公共建設法), subsidiary facilities include retail shops, department stores, restaurants and other facilities.
Other environmental protection groups said that the construction and potential crowds it could draw would seriously affect the habitat of wildlife in the area.
The area is home to the endangered Formosan black bear and a wide variety of bird life, the groups said, adding that the project would encroach on natural ecosystems.
In response, head of the city government’s construction division, Liu Lai-wang (劉來旺), said the government has taken all necessary precautions and that the worries raised were unsubstantiated.
“The government has avoided all the geologically sensitive locations and we have entered an agreement with companies to hire locally,” Liu said.
The agreement for companies to build subsidiary facilities was a ploy to increase investment incentives and would not impact on how the recreation area is run, the government’s spokesman added.
Regarding lightning strikes, Li said that according to Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower, 台電) statistics, Guguan receives about 67 strikes a year, while Taipei’s Maokong (貓空), where a cable-car system has been set up, gets about five times more.
“We have the highest safety standards for Guguan cable cars, with comprehensive plans for rescues,” Liu said, adding that the cars would stop moving when hit by gusts of winds faster than 16m per second.
Saying that cable cars have often been employed by European countries to stimulate tourism, Guguan Communal Development Association honorary chairman Liu Chia-chih (劉家熾) added that the altitudes in Guguan would only make cable cars more attractive.
Additional reporting by Chang Ching-ya, Wu Po-hsuan and Chang Jui-chen
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all