The Muzha Refuse Incineration Plant smokestack in Taipei’s Muzha District (木柵) is to be redecorated with images of Taiwanese blue magpies, banyan trees and rhododendrons, Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said on Wednesday.
The 150m smokestack currently features images of giraffes.
Ko in a Facebook post cited wear and tear as the reason for the new paint job.
Photo provided by the Environmental Protection Administration
The change is part of a planned refurbishment, which will see the plant’s exhaust gas treatment and power and electric systems upgraded, Ko wrote, adding that the public’s standards regarding air quality have continuously risen.
The refurbishment would reduce the plant’s emissions, increase the power it generates from waste heat by 6 million kilowatt-hours per year, and return its capacity to more than 1,000 tonnes of waste per day, Ko said.
Liang Hung-lang (梁宏郎), who heads the plant, had said on Monday that the image would be kept secret until it was painted at the end of the year.
Photo provided by the Environmental Protection Administration
The giraffes have remained on the smokestack for 24 years, Ko said, adding that many people mistakenly believe that it marks Taipei Zoo, which is also located in the area.
The new images are more representative of the city’s ecological environment and would better blend into the scenery, Ko said, adding that they were created by local artists Chen I-ming (陳一銘) and Lin Chia-wei (林家蔚).
The Taiwanese blue magpie, the banyan tree and the rhododendron are the city’s official bird, tree and flower, the Taipei City Government’s Department of Environmental Protection said in a statement.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
RSS