A man who gave up his US citizenship to become a Taiwan national added his voice yesterday to the growing opposition to the proposed Suao-Hualien freeway.
"The defects of an environmental impact assessment for the construction of the Suao-Hualien freeway deserve careful review," said Robin Winkler (文魯彬), founder and director-general of newly formed Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, Taiwan (台灣蠻野心足生態協會).
Winkler, whose Chinese name is Wen Lu-bin, brought up his questions about the assessment yesterday at a press conference held in Taipei by environmental groups, Hualien residents and lawmakers.
"It's terrible because the assessment lacks for comprehensive concerns over diverse issues, including water resources and ecological systems," Winkler said.
The environmental impact assessment for the NT$96.2 billion project was passed by the Environmental Protection Administration on March 15, 2000. However, the assessment acknowledged that the project could have unforeseen environmental effects that would have to be dealt with as they are encountered.
Winkler, a lawyer who has worked in Taiwan as a legal consultant to foreign investors for nearly three decades, became a Taiwanese citizen in October last year after he gave up his American citizenship early last year.
From the end of 2002 to the middle of last year, Winkler spent time in Hualien convalescing from lung cancer.
"Hualien, whose quality of life remains excellent, should not be developed without a well-planed scheme," Winkler said.
Believing that Earth needs a good lawyer, Winkler founded the Wild at Heart legal Defense Association, based on the US-based Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, now called Earthjustice.
Using resources at Winkler Partners, a Taipei-based law firm in which he is a partner, Winkler created the association with the hope it will play a leading role in shaping the development of environmental law in Taiwan. Winkler believes that becoming an ROC citizen rather than a Taipei-based American would help him to think more locally.
Winkler said the government had simplified the logic of building the freeway in terms of the effects it would have on Hualien's future prosperity.
"We don't see any concern about sustainable development on the project," he said.
Winkler's concerns were echoed by environmentalists, experts and legislators.
Lai Wei-chieh (賴偉傑), secretary-general of the Green Citizens' Action Alliance, said that the project needs to be treated seriously because it will pass through 13 faults, 10 pre-historic sites, 17 environmentally sensitive areas and along one of the most earthquake-prone areas in Taiwan.
Lee Yung-jaan (
"Building a freeway brining more tourists to the rural county will just create more problems to sustainable development in Hualien," Lee said.
Premier Yu Shyi-kun in early December halted the project for three months to give Hualien residents more time to consider the plan.
Yang Shoun-chyuan (楊守全), the convener of the Hualien Dreamers' Union (洄瀾夢想聯盟), said the issue should be discussed after the March presidential election, when the parties will have calmed down.
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