Veteran social rights advocate and National Chengchi University professor Hsu Shih-jung (徐世榮) yesterday said Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) endorsement of vacating Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) by 2020 and merging it with Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport was “selfish,” adding that the mayor has a “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) attitide.
Ko on Tuesday at a forum in Taipei cited safety concerns as one of the reasons for the decision to merge Songshan airport’s operations with Taoyuan airport.
“After the TransAsia Airways accident earlier this year, safety has become a concern that needs addressing,” Ko said.
Ko said that Songshan airport’s location means there are height restrictions for structures on approximately 3,000 hectares of land extending to Keelung to ensure flight safety.
“Does Taoyuan not have height restrictions? Is there not a safety concern in Taoyuan?” Hsu wrote on Facebook.
Hsu said construction of the third runway at Taoyuan airport involves expropriation of land for which public hearings are being held and asked Ko if he is suggesting that the opinions of Taoyuan residents can be disregarded.
Hsu accused Ko of having a “NIMBY” mindset, calling the mayor’s endorsement of the merger “the shame of Taipei.”
“Is it right to dump what you do not want onto others just because you want building restrictions removed so you can boost land development in Taipei?” Hsu asked.
Hsu said that merging the two airports is not just Taipei’s concern, but one that requires discussions involving many groups.
However, Taipei is attempting to coerce agencies and Taoyuan residents into deferring to its plans, Hsu said.
Ko’s trumpeting of the proposed move is pandering to Taipei residents and could be aimed at manipulating the Jan. 16 elections, Hsu said.
“Taipei is so selfish. I despise Ko P [a nickname Ko is known by]. I despise [Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator] Pasuya Yao (姚文智), who is responsible for pushing the plan. I despise the DPP, which has repeatedly stated that it would look out for the interests of minorities,” Hsu wrote.
Yao, who represented DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the forum, said Tsai is in favor of vacating the airport by 2020, citing noise and pollution problems associated with the facility.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
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Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching