Miramar Resort Hotel Co has demanded NT$1.2 billion (US$39.08 million) from the Taitung County Government in compensation for repeated delays in the construction of a resort project.
The company has filed a request for arbitration after exhausting administrative and legal means to keep the project alive, Miramar Resort Hotel deputy manager Lin Hung-che (林弘哲) said.
Taitung County Deputy Commissioner Chen Chin-hu (陳金虎) yesterday confirmed that the county government has received a court notice for arbitration and is putting together “the strongest team possible” for the legal fight to minimize financial effects on the county.
The project started in 2004, when the county government signed an agreement with the company to build a resort at Shanyuan Bay (杉原灣) in Beinan Township (卑南).
The agreement allowed Miramar to build and operate the resort for 50 years before turning it over to the county.
Construction on 0.95 hectares began in October 2005, but the company in April 2006 expanded the project to cover 6 hectares of beach area.
Environmental groups that year called on the county to conduct a new environmental impact assessment (EIA) to take the expansion into consideration.
The county put together a committee to conduct an EIA. After five meetings, the committee in 2007 approved the expansion.
The main structure was completed in March 2007 on land that was approved for use under the initial agreement.
The groups in June that year sued the county and the company on suspicion of collusion, theft and illegal dumping.
The groups filed another lawsuit two months later, demanding that the project be halted.
The Environmental Protection Administration asked the county government to instruct Miramar to halt construction.
In 2008, the county conditionally approved an EIA, which prompted environmentalists to file new lawsuits against the company saying that the construction license and EIA were invalid.
The High Administrative Court in 2010 ruled that the license was invalid and ordered the county to halt the development.
The Supreme Administrative Court in January 2012 ruled that there were irregularities in the county’s 2008 EIA approval, as some committee members were county officials.
Then-minister of the interior Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源) in October 2012 said that the resort should be torn down before another EIA could be carried out, because the construction was illegal.
In October 2014, the Kaohsiung High Administrative Court ruled that the seventh EIA on the expansion was invalid. The county appealed the ruling, but lost the appeal on March 31, 2016.
In November last year, Taitung County Commissioner Justin Huang (黃健庭) told the Taitung County Council that Miramar intended to file for arbitration.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS