Dozens of protesters yesterday gathered outside the Taiwan International Fastener Show venue in Kaohsiung to protest a proposed screw factory in the city and potential pollution.
Residents from Kaohsiung’s Lujhu (路竹) and Hunei (湖內) districts rallied against a proposal by Chen Nan Iron Wire Co — the parent company and supplier of a fastener company participating in the exhibition — to build an iron wire and screw factory in Hunei, as effluent produced by the factory could affect agriculture.
They waved banners and urged visitors not to purchase non-
environmentally friendly products or place orders with businesses that do not have corporate social responsibility regulations.
The proposed factory site, a farm owned by state-run Taiwan Sugar Corp at the border of Hunei and Lujhu, is surrounded by large areas of tomato and broccoli farmland.
“Agriculture is an industry as much as the fastener industry is. The city government should have a comprehensive plan to develop different industries in appropriate locations and screw factories should be placed in industrial parks away from farmland,” resident Yang Kuo-hua (楊國華) said.
“The city government is contradicting its own agricultural land solely for agricultural use policy by allowing farmland to be converted into a factory,” Yang said.
Farmer Cheng Ching-chih (鄭清智) said the city government is destroying agriculture and treating farmers like second-class citizens. He said that the proposed factory’s manufacturing process would involve immersing metals in acid to remove impurities and oxides, and the resultant wastewater could significantly affect farmlands and aquaculture downstream.
“Residents have used all kinds of methods, including lawsuits, petitions and protests, to dissuade the company and government from making a profit from residents’ health and property over the past year, but they were all in vain. So we are here today to voice our protest,” local self-help group director Tsai Chun-chi (蔡春紀) said.
The Environmental Jurists Association said Taiwan is the second-largest fastener exporter in the world, but the achievement was built on the sacrifice of local residents and the environment.
The government should abandon its “brown” economy and transition to a “green” economy, the association said, calling on the city government to reconsider the factory plan and require exhibitors at the fastener show to provide environmental test reports for their products to encourage “green” consumption.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS