Dozens of residents from Taipei’s Tianmu area (天母) and Trees Party activists yesterday protested against a NT$130 million (US$3.91 million) park renovation project by the Taipei City Government, which they said would relocate about 100 old trees and vast amounts of vegetation in Tienhe Park (天和) and Donghe Park (東和) in Tianmu.
The Taipei Parks and Street Lights Office yesterday conducted an on-site inspection at Tienhe Park to negotiate with residents and assess the condition of trees and facilities to be removed or renovated.
Residents said that they have launched a signature collection campaign to stop the renovation project, adding that Tienhe Park houses a well that is more than 300 years old and is one of the eight spectacles of Shilin District (士林), while the park is also a habitat for Taiwan blue magpies, a protected species generally considered Taiwan’s national bird.
Renovation would replace vegetation in the park with art installations and recreation facilities, affecting local ecology and hydrology, they said.
“We do not want art installations. We want trees and vegetation. Big budget is big disaster,” a local resident surnamed Lu (盧) said.
Residents do not oppose park maintenance or tree care, but they are against meaningless and extravagant renovation, such as removing trees for art installations, or replacing grass with concete, Lu said, adding that Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) does not need to continue an ill-devised policy established by former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌).
Trees Party Chairman Pan Han-chiang (潘翰疆) said: “The renovation is part of the World Design Capital project, but its design is a recipe for disaster.”
Pan said the office planned to relocate 104 trees out of the 375 in Tienhe Park deemed unhealthy or dangerous, but the office should have arborists examine the trees to preserve them, instead of spending millions of New Taiwan dollars on demolishing them.
Office Deputy Chief Engineer Mo Hua-jung (莫華榕) said the office had already canceled plans to relocate the 104 trees after a meeting with residents last month, adding that only 15 trees considered dangerous might be removed pending further negotiation with residents.
Most of the budget would go to building more “green” spaces to raise the park’s greenery coverage from 75 percent to 85 percent, as well as leveling uneven ground, repaving the ground with water-permeable materials and preserving the well in the park, Mo said, adding that most residents agreed with the office’s plan.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and