Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) yesterday accused the Executive Yuan of “ambush” with its announcement on Tuesday night that it had issued a permit for Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) to build two natural gas-powered units at the Taichung Thermal Power Plant.
Lu said the central government had bypassed the local government’s authority to oversee construction at the facility.
“People in central Taiwan are angry and I am lodging a serious protest [against this decision] on behalf of the city government and Taichung resident,” she said.
.Photo copied by Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei Times
Taichung and the state-owned utility have been at loggerheads over the pollution caused by its coal-fired generators and whether Taipower can add gas-fired generators to the plant.
One of the world’s largest coal-fired plants, the Taichung Power Plant consists of 10 coal-fired generators.
Taipower is planning to add two natural gas-powered units to the plant by 2025 as part of a plan to decrease coal consumption and improve air quality.
The utility said that after installing the two gas-powered units, it would decommission, but not scrap four of its coal-fired generators to have them in reserve to generate power when electricity is in short supply.
That proposal requires the city’s approval, but Taichung’s lack of action after 15 months led the central government to try to bypass local authorities.
The Executive Yuan on Tuesday said it had approved a special building construction permit for Taipower to build the new gas-fired units, and justified its decision with a technical legal argument that said the project did not need the city’s approval.
The Construction and Planning Agency argued in a statement that Taichung’s requirement that the Taichung Power Plant proposal be reviewed under the Urban Planning Act (都市計畫法) exceeded the authority of the Taichung City Government.
It said the city was required by its “Urban Planning Act Self-Government Regulations” to establish the scope of its urban plan and procedures for carrying it out in a detailed plan that would guide the enforcement of the Taipower project.
However, Taichung never completed the process and, thus, trying to review Taipower’s proposal under the law was beyond the scope allowed by the regulations, the agency said.
Because the city did not act in conformity with the law, the application for a special building permit was exempt from the urban design review process, it said, adding that it granted a special construction permit to allow Taipower to proceed with the project.
Lu yesterday reiterated the city’s stance that it was not opposed to building gas-fired units at the plant, but Taipower should first scrap at least some of its existing coal-fired generators.
Moreover, as the new gas-powered units are being built in Taichung, there is no reason why the city government cannot review the project before allowing construction to begin, Lu said.
Even with the agency issuing a special permit, the project still has to be approved in accordance with the self-government regulations on urban planning, Taichung Legal Affairs Bureau Director-General Lee Shan-chih (李善植) said.
Any construction of gas-fired generators at the Taichung Power Plant would be deemed illegal unless it has been approved by the city government, he said.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
Shih Hsin University President Chen Ching-he (陳清河) yesterday issued a public apology for comments made in his commencement speech last week, stating that he has asked the school to suspend his duties and halt his wages for two months as a show of contrition. At the commencement ceremony on May 30, Chen said, “If you don’t manage your time well, or your own emotions, or your health, then I am telling every one of you — put a quick end to ‘you,’ because the world has no need for ‘you.’” The comments have sparked significant controversy online, and Chen through an open
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
RSS