New Taipei City fishers vowed a “fight to the end” after Germany-based energy company EnerVest scheduled briefing sessions on its wind farm projects in the seas near Pengjia (彭佳嶼), Mianhua (棉花嶼) and Huaping (花瓶嶼) islets.
EnerVest’s publicity materials showed that it plans to build 520 turbines in three wind farms of about 1,000 square kilometers near the islets of Pengjia, Mianhua and Huaping.
Speaking at a local fishers’ association meeting in Wanli District (萬里), New Taipei City Councilor Pai Pei-ju (白珮茹) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on Tuesday slammed EnerVest, saying that the company’s low-key announcements all but ambushed her constituents.
EnerVest planned to hold briefing sessions in Jinshan (金山) and Wangli (萬里) districts, but gave little notice, Pai said, adding that she did not learn of the dates until her staffers pressed the company’s representatives.
“They only told me that the events were tentatively set for December,” she said. “This looks like they are deliberately obstructing and keeping the people’s representatives in the dark.”
Her intent is to ensure the transparency of information and full participation of the public, not whether local residents approve the wind farms, Pai said.
The fisheries near the three islets are rich in squid, roe-bearing flying fish, belt fish and crabs, Wanli fishers’ association president Lien Tsung-ming (練聰明) and Jinshang fishers’ association president Hsu Kuo-liang (許國亮) said.
Trawling, crab caging and restaurants would all be affected if the wind farms disrupted the fisheries, they said.
Rueifang fishers’ association president Huang Chih-ming (黃志明) said that the 1km gap between turbines would present a navigational hazard for boats, while low-frequency noise pollution might affect the migrant birds of Jinshang and Huaping Islet.
In November, Keelung Mayor Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said that he was opposed to the wind farms and urged New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) to listen to his city’s residents.
New Taipei Fisheries and Fishing Port Management Office Director Chang Li-chen (張麗珍) said that EnerVest and not the central government was responsible for choosing the sites, and that the city government would pass the residents’ opinions to the central government.
“We hope our residents will go to the briefing sessions and we absolutely will do all that we can to help fishers,” she said.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for
RSS