A number of environmental protection groups yesterday launched a petition against the Greater Taichung Government’s plan to construct a gondola system passing through a stretch of natural forest in a mountainous area of the Dakeng scenic area (大坑).
The event was organized by eight groups, including Homemakers United Foundation, the Society of Wilderness and the Taiwan Academy of Ecology.
The groups called upon Taichung residents to telephone Taichung Mayor Jason Hu’s (胡志強) reelection campaign office as well as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taichung mayoral candidate, Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), to express disapproval of the plan.
The groups said Hu has insisted that the gondola system be established, while Lin has not yet expressed his position on the issue.
The protesters said the development plan’s opponents had gathered enough influence to impact the Nov. 29 mayoral election, and the groups would continue to pressure the two candidates to openly block the project.
Taiwan Academy of Ecology secretary-general Tsai Chih-hao (蔡智豪) said the tract of forest that the proposed project is to pass through is reserved for homeland security purposes and is the last natural forest in the city.
The construction of the gondola system would involve setting up pylons to shore up passenger platforms between Dakeng and Hsinshe District (新社), which would result in the uprooting of trees along the 3.2km route and cause severe damage to the forest, he said.
Local resident and hiker Hsu Kun-tzu (徐坤賜) urged members of the public to help preserve the forest by voicing their disapproval for the proposed construction.
Under the proposal, the gondola system is to start from the No. 2 Dakeng hiking trail and pass through the ridgeline of Touko Mountain (頭嵙), before ending at the Hsinshe Parking lot.
Environmentalists said the city government has issued a call for bids for a build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract for a hotel on a plot of land next to the route’s starting point, in an attempt to stimulate interest from the business sector before accepting tenders for the gondola system.
Since the BOT case has not undergone an environmental impact assessment, the government’s move has stirred up a range of controversies, among which its appeal to authorities to abolish the forest’s status as one serving the purpose of homeland security is the most contentious, the environmentalists said.
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