Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) comments about a project by the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation on a disputed plot of land in Neihu District (內湖) drew a heated response from Buddhist Master Shih Chao-hwei (釋昭慧) yesterday.
“I cannot help but severely criticize Ko,” Shih said in a Facebook post, protesting what she called Ko’s “humiliation” of the foundation.
“It is like biting the hand that feeds you,” Shih said. “The mayor of Taipei has treated with hostility a noble organization that helps him care for the city’s weak and disadvantaged.”
Photo: Kuo An-chia, Taipei Times
She said Ko had not done his homework and carefully reviewed the foundation’s plan before calling it a “development project,” as if it were an urban renewal plan backed by a business group.
The site is to be used to manufacture blankets for use in disaster relief and would serve as a logistics center in the event of an emergency, she said.
In a recent interview with CK Potpourri, the Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School magazine, Ko said it was “strange” that the foundation had bought the land in an environmentally protected zone in Neihu for development.
The project has been mired in controversy for more than 10 years because of opposition from residents and environmental groups.
Tree Party policy director Pan Han-shen (潘翰聲) said that environmental groups oppose the project because it would set a poor precedent, opening the door for large corporations or those with influence to expedite approval for use of land in environmentally protected zones.
He said the Tzu Chi Foundation had sought to have the project approved as an individual case, without considering the wider impact it would have and that it has refused to have the project undergo an environmental impact assessment.
In December last year, Ko said he was opposed to the project as a matter of principle, stating that there was no need for Taipei to take from the wilderness to make room for further population growth.
In response to Shih’s remarks, Taipei City Government spokesman Sidney Lin (林鶴明) said Ko was only discussing the facts of a case that has attracted substantial public interest, and was not taking aim at any particular organization.
The city was extremely grateful for the foundation’s assistance in dealing with the aftermath of last month’s plane crash, Lin said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
REWRITING HISTORY: China has been advocating a ‘correct’ interpretation of the victory over Japan that brings the CCP’s contributions to the forefront, an expert said An elderly Chinese war veteran’s shin still bears the mark of a bullet wound he sustained when fighting the Japanese as a teenager, a year before the end of World War II. Eighty years on, Li Jinshui’s scar remains as testimony to the bravery of Chinese troops in a conflict that killed millions of their people. However, the story behind China’s overthrow of the brutal Japanese occupation is deeply contested. Historians broadly agree that credit for victory lies primarily with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-led Republic of China (ROC) Army. Its leader, Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a
RSS