Land expropriation for the Taoyuan Aerotropolis project’s peripheral areas should be put on hold until an environmental review of the core area is passed, advocates said yesterday, while blasting a government-sponsored survey of residents affected by the project for asking misleading questions.
“The idea behind the aerotropolis is that construction [of a third runway for the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport] will bring in more travelers, which will create jobs and lead to demand for new housing and the formation of new business districts,” Taoyuan Aerotropolis Anti-Eviction Alliance spokesman Tien Chi-feng (田奇?) said. “The ‘egg white’ [peripheral areas] land development portion of the project depends on the ‘yolk’ [core area consisting] of a new runway and free-trade district.”
The Environmental Protection Administration’s Environmental Impact Assessment Committee last month moved to conduct a review of construction of a new major highway that is to service the aerotropolis, raising the prospect of further delays.
The Taoyuan City Government is in the process of applying to the Ministry of the Interior for permission to begin land expropriation for the “egg white” portion of the project, which has drawn criticism from advocates, who said it is unnecessary and would compromise residents’ interests.
Advocates staged a protest outside Taoyuan City Hall yesterday, criticizing a city survey for asking leading questions.
They accused the city of inflating levels of support from residents in a bid to win land expropriation approval.
Tien said the survey asked residents a series of questions about whether they “knew” that residents would be eligible for land, building and resettlement compensation under city plans, before asking them whether they supported the land expropriation.
“While city plans do include these forms of compensation, what the survey does not say is that not everyone will be eligible — for example, many people’s homes are not legal and would be excluded, while small landowners’ plots would shrink under current land redistribution plans,” he said, adding that residents would be required to pay if they choose to settle in the newly built apartments.
“You might think you would be able to resettle, only to find out later that your home is illegal, or that you will not have enough money to build a new home,” he said.
He urged the city government to inform individual residents whether they would qualify for resettlement before having the project plan approved.
NEW AGREEMENT: Malaysia approved imports last year after nearly two years of negotiations and inspections to meet quarantine requirements, officials said Up to 3.6 tonnes of pomeloes from Taiwan cleared Malaysian customs on Friday, in the first shipment of Taiwanese pomeloes to Malaysia. Taiwan-grown pomeloes are popular in domestic and overseas markets for their tender and juicy taste, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said. The fruit is already exported to Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines, it added. The agency began applying for access to the Malaysian market in 2023, compiling data on climate suitability, pests and diseases, and post-harvest handling, while also engaging in nearly two years of negotiations with Malaysian authorities and submitting supplementary
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
Tigerair Taiwan and China Airlines (CAL) today announced that several international flights were canceled or rescheduled due to Typhoon Ragasa. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has maintained sea and land warnings for the typhoon. Its storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan's southern tip at 11am today. Tigerair Taiwan said it canceled Monday's IT551/IT552 Taoyuan-Da Nang, IT606/IT607 Taoyuan-Busan and IT602 Taoyuan-Seoul Incheon flights. Tomorrow, cancelations include IT603 Seoul Incheon-Taoyuan, as well as flights between Taoyuan and Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Saga, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Asahikawa and Jeju. On Wednesday, the IT321/IT322 Kaohsiung-Macau round-trip would also be canceled. CAL announced that today's
About nine Taiwanese are “disappeared,” detained, or otherwise deprived of freedom of movement in China each month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Between Jan. 1 last year and Aug. 31 this year, 188 Taiwanese travelers went missing, were detained and interrogated, or had their personal freedom restricted, with some questioned in airports or hotel lobbies, the council said. In a statement ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the council urged people visiting China for any reason to be highly vigilant and aware of the risks. Of the reported cases, 50 people were “disappeared” after entering China, 19 were detained and 119 had
RSS