Environmentalist Huang Huan-chang (黃煥彰) was on Friday presented with the Lifetime Environmental Protection Award at this year’s Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations Convention in Taipei.
In response, Huang urged people to show concern about the pollution of farmland and fish ponds, adding that inaction would only harm their own bodies.
It is of utmost importance for the government to update its waste disposal legislation, especially in light of government policies promoting high-tech industrial development, he said.
Loopholes in existing legislation mean company owners who illegally dispose of waste often receive small fines or little punishment, and some even get away scot-free, he said.
In addition to that, the government has not invested in handling waste matter generated by the high-tech sector, so the problems presented by pollution are very real, Huang said.
There are about 200 sites where illegal waste is disposed every year, but only 8 percent of those sites are cleaned up, he said.
Huang said that without action, such disposal sites would grow and eventually affect agriculture and fish ponds, which would then evolve into a food safety issue.
Speaking of his experiences, Huang said that over the past 20-odd years his efforts to protect the environment have not always gone smoothly, adding that he has been threatened over the telephone and was even followed by gang members.
Some of his friends have become estranged because they believed falsehoods created to alienate them, Huang said, adding that he was even locked in a room by a plant owner when he visited to gauge the extent of pollution produced by the plant facility.
Despite everything, Huang pledged to continue his work to protect the environment.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it