The Council of Agriculture earlier this week rejected two gondola projects proposed by former Taichung mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) over concerns about their potential geological and ecological effects.
The proposed routes aimed to connect the scenic areas of Dasyueshan (大雪山) and Guguang (谷關), and link Dakeng Scenic Area (大坑) to Hsinshe District (新社) respectively.
Citing the verdict by the council’s Forestry Bureau, Taichung City Government spokesperson Cho Kuan-ting (卓冠廷) said that the proposed routes would cross geologically sensitive zones that are “totally unfit” for the pylons needed to suspend gondola cables.
The bureau used satellite imagery and field inspections to identify several dip slopes and areas where rock falls are common, as well as other unstable features that could lead to landslides, he said.
The danger could be exacerbated, given the extreme weather patterns accompanying climate change, Cho said.
The gondola routes would also pass through habitats of a range of protected species, such as the Formosan black bear.
Based on these reasons, the bureau rejected the projects on the Forestry Act (森林法), he said.
Hu proposed the gondolas during his re-election bid last year.
His administration issued a call for bids without conducting an environmental impact assessment, drawing widespread criticism over the procedural violation.
After taking office in January, Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) put the projects on hold, citing the controversial bidding process.
Lin’s administration sought the bureau’s approval so the municipal government could begin assessing the projects in compliance with the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (環境影響評估法) and was rejected, Cho said.
Taichung City councilors in favor of the projects, including Su Ching-yun (蘇慶雲) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), questioned Lin at the city council building about why the municipal government had not re-evaluated the feasibility of the projects.
“It is not a question of whether the city government wants to carry out the projects. It is simply impossible to take on the projects,” Lin said.
After learning about the bureau’s decision, Su said that he would he would ask KMT Legislator Chiang Chi-chen (江啟臣) to consult with the council about the possibility of an re-evaluation.
He said that Guguan and Dasyueshan boast world-class scenery and that the gondola would join the two destinations, thereby boosting Taichung’s tourism, a standpoint also adopted by Democratic Progressive Party Taichung City Councilor Tsai Cheng-kuei (蔡成圭).
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