The issue of building a freeway between Suao and Hualien, with a later extension to Taitung, is once again the subject of much debate.
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and the four Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidates, lacking courage, are passing the buck to the Environmental Protection Agency to make a final decision on its construction.
I was raised in Taiwan. I lived there for 16 years in the 1950s and 1960s.
During those years, as the initial stages of Taiwan's staggering economic success story was emerging, western Taiwan was largely agricultural.
The countryside was absolutely beautiful and unspoiled.
Fifty years later, western Taiwan is densely populated.
The entire route between Taipei and Kaohsiung is developed with high rises, factories and elevated highways.
Wide open green spaces, so vital for every country and its people, are now harder to find.
The east coast of Taiwan is the last remaining coastal area unspoiled by unconstrained development.
Taiwanese need to stand up and demand that development be measured and well planned to preserve nature's beauty for future generations.
The Suhua Freeway will devastate the beauty of the gorgeous mountains that plunge into the sea between Suao and Hualien.
It would open up Hualien and the valley between Hualien and Taitung to unconstrained and reckless growth.
For an example of what this might be like, take a look at the tragic erosion of the mountainside immediately outside Taroko Gorge.
A cement factory mining for limestone is responsible for that.
This should provide the grimmest of reminders of what the proposed freeway will do.
Do people really want Hualien to look like another Taoyuan or Chungli?
The Taiwan Railway Administration provides good transportation services between western and eastern Taiwan. In particular, its services between Taipei and Hualien are excellent.
New electrical tilting trains are being introduced and will further reduce travel time to only two hours.
The line between Hualien and Taitung has also been substantially upgraded in recent years.
The Taipei-Hualien railway can be further upgraded with improvements in the north. This should be pursued in lieu of building the Suhua Freeway.
I urge the EPA to find the courage to say no to building the Suhua Freeway.
Please develop a plan to conserve the beauty of eastern Taiwan for future generations.
Loren Aandahl
Minneapolis, Minnesota
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