Greater Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan’s (鄭文燦) endorsement of the Taoyuan Aerotropolis project has drawn furious opposition from local residents and activist groups.
The Aerotropolis project requires the expropriation of more than 3,000 hectares of private land housing about 46,000 people, making it the largest eviction plan in the nation’s history. It would see commercial and residential areas, as well as a free economic pilot zone, established around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
The groups said that Cheng supporting the project made him seem “schizophrenic” toward the issue, because when he was running for mayor on the Democratic Progressive Party’s ticket, he had vowed to reconsider it.
The criticism was sparked by remarks Cheng made at a municipal meeting in Taoyuan on Wednesday, where he said he would refrain from “making any hasty modifications” to the Aerotropolis project, since the plan has already been approved and changing it would “affect land prices in the area.”
He said that the area designated for development would serve as a local commercial hub in the future, adding that the construction plans should be implemented according to the principles of democratic participation and transparency.
Led by the Taiwan Association of Human Rights (TAHR) and the Taoyuan Aerotropolis Self-Help Organization, dozens of protesters rallied outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei yesterday, where Cheng was attending a meeting.
The groups also blasted Premier Mao Chih-kuo (毛治國) and Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) for “recklessly imposing” the plan.
“We wonder if Cheng has buckled under pressure from the central government,” TAHR deputy secretary-general Wang Pao-hsuan (王寶萱) said. “We urge Cheng to fulfill the promises he made to his voters.”
Given that the environmental impact assessment of a proposal to build a third runway at the airport is not set to take place until 2022, it is unreasonable to make land expropriation plans now, Wang said.
National Chengchi University professor Hsu Shih-jung (徐世榮) said the amount of land expropriations carried out in a country can be seen as an indicator of the development of human rights.
Taiwan’s land seizure legislation was established during the Martial Law era — legally equipping the government to abuse its power in this area, Hsu added.
In response, Cheng said that any expropriation for the Aerotropolis project would only be executed with the consent of local residents, adding that any changes to core areas of the plan would need to be negotiated with the central government.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
RSS