A group of about 300 protesters yesterday gathered at “tofu rocks” along Hsinchu County’s Toucian River (頭前溪) to demand clean drinking water for the county’s residents.
The protesters stood on the riverbank to form the Chinese character for the word “water” (水, shui), and captured the scene using a drone.
A group of local environmental activists tested water and demonstrated the effects of water-borne parasites on water quality.
Photo provided by the Society of Wilderness’ Hsinchu Qinzi Group
Event organizers invited local politicians from across party lines to participate, saying that water quality was everyone’s concern.
“We refuse to drink wastewater. The government must amend the Water Pollution Control Act [水污染防治法],” the organizers said, adding that water sources for drinking and irrigation must be clearly separated from factory and sewage runoffs.
The group chose yesterday for the protest in the hopes that with elections only a month away, politicians would be willing to promise to improve water quality, they said.
“Toucian River supplies water to 750,000 people, but as soon as winter arrives, water levels drop. One-fourth of the water that remains is wastewater,” they said.
The river supplies 200,000 tonnes of water daily to the Longen weir (隆恩堰) downstream from tofu rocks, but further upstream 25,000 tonnes of wastewater is pumped into the river every day, they said.
The ratio of wastewater increases in the winter when water levels fall, they added.
The organizers and other local activists had been for two-and-a-half years calling on the government to install a wastewater pipe for industrial runoff, but officials had insisted water quality was not a problem, they said.
Establishing a water treatment facility and installing a wastewater pipe would be in the interests of local residents and industry, which would be spared from protests, they said.
“If they pipe out the wastewater to an off-site water-treatment facility it would make management of the river easier, and would take the pressure off the government,” they said.
Aftershocks from a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck off Yilan County at 3:45pm yesterday could reach a magnitude of 5 to 5.5, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Seismological Center technical officer Chiu Chun-ta (邱俊達) told a news conference that the epicenter of the temblor was more than 100km from Taiwan. Although predicted to measure between magnitude 5 and 5.5, the aftershocks would reach an intensity of 1 on Taiwan’s 7-tier scale, which gauges the actual effect of an earthquake, he said. The earthquake lasted longer in Taipei because the city is in a basin, he said. The quake’s epicenter was about 128.9km east-southeast
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
The New Taipei City Government today warned about the often-overlooked dangers of playing in water, and recommended safe swimming destinations to cool off from the summer heat. The following locations in the city as safe and fun for those looking to enjoy the water: Chienshuiwan (淺水灣), Baishawan (白沙灣), Jhongjiao Bay (中角灣), Fulong Beach Resort (福隆海水浴場) and Sansia District’s (三峽) Dabao River (大豹溪), New Taipei City Tourism and Travel Department Director-General Yang Tsung-min (楊宗珉) said. Outdoor bodies of water have variables outside of human control, such as changing currents, differing elevations and environmental hazards, all of which can lead to accidents, Yang said. Sudden
RSS