The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) and the National Science Council yesterday filed several appeals on the Taipei High Administrative Court’s ruling on the third and fourth phase expansion of the Central Taiwan Science Park.
National Science Council Deputy Minister Jou Jing-yang (周景揚) told a press conference that the EPA, the council and the science park were appealing three specific rulings issued by the court.
ASSESSMENT
Jou said that in its ruling on July 30, the court said the EPA must order the science park administration, within seven days of receiving a copy of the ruling, to stop development work on the Phase 3 zone until an environmental impact assessment review is approved by the EPA.
The EPA and the science park have jointly filed an appeal on this ruling, he said.
Jou said the EPA and the science park also jointly appealed the court’s ruling on the science park’s Phase 4 Zone, which states that the EPA must stop development because of a pending lawsuit against the conditional approval it issued.
DEVELOPMENT PERMIT
The council, for its part, appealed the part of the ruling stating that the Central Taiwan Science Park Administration must stop acting on the development permit issued by the council, he said.
Jou said the council expected the appeal would be completed within three to six months, adding that Phase 3 would be able to continue if the environmental impact assessment review is passed by the end of this month.
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
PAPERS, PLEASE: The gang exploited the high value of the passports, selling them at inflated prices to Chinese buyers, who would treat them as ‘invisibility cloaks’ The Yilan District Court has handed four members of a syndicate prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and two months for their involvement in a scheme to purchase Taiwanese passports and resell them abroad at a massive markup. A Chinese human smuggling syndicate purchased Taiwanese passports through local criminal networks, exploiting the passports’ visa-free travel privileges to turn a profit of more than 20 times the original price, the court said. Such criminal organizations enable people to impersonate Taiwanese when entering and exiting Taiwan and other countries, undermining social order and the credibility of the nation’s