Civil groups yesterday urged the Executive Yuan to amend the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (環境影響評估法) during this legislative session, in light of a controversy over the Shenao Power Plant (深澳電廠), which obtained approval from the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA).
The EPA’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) grand assembly on March 14 approved Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower) project to build a new coal-fired Shenao plant in New Taipei City’s Rueifang District (瑞芳), after the plant was demolished in 2011.
EPA Deputy Minister and assembly chairperson Chan Shun-kuei (詹順貴) has come under fire due to his decisive vote for the project when assembly members were tied 8-8.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Despite his personal objection to the project, he was not entitled to reject it under the current legal framework, as the project had passed an assessment in 2006, Chan said, calling on the public to turn their fury into calls for amending the act.
Premier William Lai (賴清德) on Tuesday last week promised to send the act’s draft amendment to the Legislative Yuan within six months, but environmental groups yesterday questioned his resolve to reform the assessment system.
The EPA in September last year launched its draft amendment to the act, and the Executive Yuan should forward it to the legislature soon, as the legislature will become idle with the approach of the local elections on Nov. 24, the Environmental Jurists Association said.
The Shenao project highlights a significant defect of the current assessment system, as the utility is not required to re-evaluate local environmental conditions when building the plant, Green Citizens’ Action Alliance researcher Wu Cheng-cheng (吳澄澄) said.
The act should be amended to require project developers to conduct new assessments if they fail to complete construction in a given period, she said.
While Taipower is conducting a second-stage assessment for decommissioning the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Shihmen District (石門), it did not provide thorough information to local residents, who now can only argue with the utility about compensation, Northern Coast Anti-Nuclear Action Alliance executive director Kuo Ching-lin (郭慶霖) said.
The government should help residents interpret the difficult information about nuclear power plants, as the utility has to decommission two other nuclear plants and the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, and tackle the nuclear waste on Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼), Kuo said, adding that the act should call for greater public participation during assessments.
Other groups said that the act should also include regulations about strategic environmental assessments for large-scale developments, such as offshore wind farms, confirm an assessment’s effect on a development’s approval and sever the symbiotic relation between developers and consulting firms.
GENSLER SURVEY: ‘Economic infrastructure is not enough. A city needs to inspire pride, offer moments of joy and foster a sense of belonging,’ the company said Taipei was named the city with the “highest staying power” in the world by US-based design and architecture firm Gensler. The Taiwanese capital earned the top spot among 65 cities across six continents with 64 percent of Taipei respondents in a survey of 33,000 people saying they wanted to stay in the city. Rounding out the top five were Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (61 percent), Singapore (59 percent), Sydney (58 percent) and Berlin (51 percent). Sixth to 10th place went to Monterrey, Mexico; Munich, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Vancouver; and Seoul. Cities in the US were ranked separately, with Minneapolis first at
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
RSS