Dozens of residents from Greater Kaohsiung’s Dalinpu (大林蒲) area staged a rally in front of the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday, protesting the South Star Plan (南星計畫) development project, before the start of an environmental impact assessment (EIA) general assembly meeting in the afternoon.
The South Star Plan’s first phase development project, a 46.64 hectare area of reclaimed land in Greater Kaohsiung’s Siaogang District (小港) that has been targeted for development into a yachting industry park, was among the 14 cases to be discussed during the meeting.
“You will be overcome with sadness if you come and visit the area we live in,” a borough chief surnamed Huang (黃) told committee members and the project developer. “For so many years, the land has been filled with various types of foul industrial waste, including medical waste.”
Photo: Liu Li-jen, Taipei Times
“If the project is approved, we will become like the filling in a sandwich biscuit, squeezed in a small area between several industrial areas, including state-run refiner CPC, Taiwan, state-owned integrated steelmaker China Steel, and state-owned Taiwan Power,” he said, adding that many local residents have already become sick from air pollution.
A local resident in her 60s, Chen Yu-hsi (陳玉西), said she was furious that the area that she has lived in for more than 60 years used to have a beautiful coastline and quality farmland, but is now occupied by high-polluting industries.
Moreover, the last stretch of coastline may become developed by the yachting industry, leaving them with “no more place to breathe fresh air,” Chen said.
A member of a local culture protection group said that although major development projects are always touted as creating job opportunities in rural areas, they have instead created industries where working conditions are often “highly polluted, very dangerous, with long working hours and low salaries,” so young people are still eager to leave the area to seek employment elsewhere.
Other concerns include sediment from the ocean near the landfill area that may be contaminated with heavy metal substances and the pollution that may be caused by the yachting industry.
The project failed to pass the review yesterday afternoon, with the assembly citing an incomplete evaluation of the risks involved.
Several other cases that were discussed during the meeting yesterday also faced protests and opposing opinions from local residents and civic groups.
Residents from Yunlin and Penghu expressed concern that Taiwan Power’s plans to build a submarine cable between Yunlin County and Penghu County might lead to overpumping of groundwater, which might destabilize the foundation of houses nearby. They were also concerned about the negative effects of long-term exposure to high levels of electromagnetic radiation.
Meanwhile, residents from Miaoli County’s Yuanli Township (苑裡) protested against wind turbines being erected too close to their homes, saying it could pose a health risk.
They said that the wind energy company included in the project did not communicate with local residents before beginning its construction work.
Civic environmentalist groups expressed concern about the environmental monitoring project at Changhua County’s Changpin Industrial Park (彰濱工業區), questioning why a few important items were not included, such as the soil, groundwater and the rare species of Chinese white dolphin off the coastline near the park.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS