Several unsolved problems involving environmental justice in different parts of Taiwan will be highlighted in Taipei later this month in a bid to galvanize the central government into action, the Taipei Times learned from environmentalists yesterday.
Yesterday in Tainan City, where a preparatory meeting was held for the 2nd National NGO Conference -- scheduled to be held in Taipei on Earth Day, April 22 -- dozens of villagers in Dongshan Township, Tainan County, distributed thousands of flyers stating their opposition to a recently completed industrial-waste landfill in their hometown.
At the meeting, representatives of the township expressed their concerns over the potential pollution of the nearby Wushantou Reservoir (烏山頭水庫), one of the main sources of irrigation and drinking water in southern Taiwan.
According to Chen Hsien-mao (陳顯茂), a representative of the Dongshan Township Self-Help Association, plans for the landfill project were processed without consulting residents.
"An operating license should never be issued to a project if residents' questions and concerns are not responsibly and satisfactorily answered by the government," Chen said.
Residents of Dongshan are also angered by not only this project, but also plans for an even bigger landfill for industrial waste. The sites cover 9.2 hectares and 18 hectares, respectively. The smaller site has already been completed.
Chen said that the government's geological information shows that the two sites are located less than 200m from the reservoir.
"If water in the reservoir gets polluted, the livelihood of most villagers, who grow different types of fruits, might be negatively affected," Chen said.
Due to persistent opposition from residents, the operating license has not yet been issued to the operator by the local government. Chen said prosecutors are still investigating the matter because of inappropriate administrative procedures concerning the two projects had been discovered. Last December, Dongshan villagers boycotted the legislative elections to show their discontent of lawmakers they elected in the previous elections. It turned out that only 14 percent of voters cast their ballots.
"We bring up the controversial issue today in Tainan in a bid to have it discussed further at the national conference in Taipei. High-ranking officials should take unsolved local issues seriously into account," Chen said.
The 2nd National NGO Conference will be jointly held by various civic groups seeking to address issues of environmental protection and ecological conservation. Last Saturday, at another preparatory meeting held in northern Taiwan, activists have decided to release a list of environment-unfriendly industrial developers in Taiwan on April 22 to highlight the government's failure to prevent development projects that jeopardize the nation's environmental sustainability.
Wu Tung-chieh (吳東傑), general director of the Green Formosa Front, said that different controversial environmental issues reflect the same governance problems. Controversial issues around another industrial landfill project in Taipei County, as well as the Suao-Hualien freeway project (which costs NT$96.2 billion), the Hushan Reservoir project in Yunlin County and others are similar in nature.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
RSS