Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) yesterday said that he would seek to communicate with Taipei mayor-elect Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on issues related to the construction of a direct rail line connecting Taipei and Yilan, adding that the government must consult environmental experts.
After a meeting on Sunday, Ko said he reached a consensus with Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢) to jointly push for a Taipei-Yilan rail line, adding that they would seek to build the shortest route — or “route A,” through the Feitsui Reservoir’s (翡翠水庫) catchment area — rather than “route B,” a curved path avoiding the environmentally sensitive area.
“We should look for a way to succeed, not excuses for failure. The decision [to take route B] is dodging the environmental issue; we should first try to see if the environmental issues can be solved. If they can, then we should of course choose route A. If they cannot, then we would go to route B,” Ko said on Sunday.
Environmental activists vehemently opposed the proposal, as Ko and Lin’s preferred route would pass through a primary source of drinking water for residents in the Greater Taipei area.
When asked by legislators about the issue during the Transportation Committee meeting in Taipei yesterday, Yeh said the central government chose the route that would bypass the reservoir’s catchment area due to strong opposition from the Taipei City Government, adding that the ministry is conducting an environmental impact assessment on the route that will not pass through the reservoir.
“The ministry will take into consideration any new idea proposed by the Taipei City Government and Yilan County Government. However, we must respect the opinions of the experts, particularly those who are experts in environmental protection,” he said.
The government’s route goes from Taipei’s Nangang District (南港) to Toucheng Township (頭城) via Dashi Township (大溪) in Yilan County and is about 53km long.
The route would shorten the travel time from Taipei to Yilan by 18 minutes, with the construction estimated to cost NT$49.1 billion.
The route selected by Lin and Ko is 36.3km and goes through the Feitsui Reservoir area.
The route would reduce travel time from 65 minutes to 39 minutes. Construction is estimated to cost NT$45.8 billion.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said he opposed the project, regardless of the route.
He added that the government’s route is not likely to be approved by the Environmental Assessment Committee either, as it passes through some ecologically fragile zones and mining areas along the way.
While the ministry estimated the cost to be about NT$49.1 billion, Lee said the government might not pull the project off even if it pumps in NT$100 billion.
Separately yesterday, outgoing Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) also expressed in a note posted on Facebook “strong opposition” to “any” plan that would put a railroad through the Feitsui Reservoir area, due to concerns the project could jeopardize the city’s water supply.
“It is extremely difficult to restore water quality,” Hau wrote. “Therefore, [on this issue] when it’s impossible not to choose between development and the environment, the environment should take top priority.”
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS