Hualien County Commissioner Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁) yesterday called on Premier Lin Chuang (林全) to clarify a consensus announced by the Executive Yuan’s Eastern Taiwan Joint Services Center regarding a highway improvement project.
Fu asked whether the consensus — reached between the center and a deputy minister — was considered legally binding.
The center’s executive director Hsu Chuan-sheng (許傳盛) said that a cross-departmental meeting on Monday reached a consensus that the Suhua Highway Improvement Project would be completed by 2018 and would not be delayed or have its route changed, adding that maximum effort would be spent to conserve cultural heritage sites along the project.
The meeting was held between Hsu, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) and Deputy Minister of Culture Yang Tzu-pao (楊子葆).
The cultural heritage site in question is the Hanben culture archeological site (漢本遺址), which on July 1 was designated as a national heritage site.
Hsu said that multiple landslides along the highway caused by Typhoon Nepartak showed that there is an urgency to meet the project’s deadline, as the highway poses a safety risk to drivers and needs greater maintenance.
The meeting concluded that the project should endeavor to minimize damage to the heritage site and maximize conservation.
However, Fu said the center has never been clear on the improvement project, adding that the county government has not clarified whether the consensus would carry legal weight.
The people in the meeting do not have adequate seniority, and Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) is known to oppose the project, Fu said, adding that the premier should clarify the Executive Yuan’s stance on the issue.
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