The Taitung County Government on Tuesday began testing the systems at the county’s long-dormant incinerator, saying that it is to begin trial operations in June provided the systems are functioning correctly.
The county said that launching operations at the plant would relieve trash problems in the area and would, over the long run, help keep Taitung clean.
The incinerator has faced myriad problems. There was more than 21 years of deliberation before construction began in 2001. Since its completion and trial operations in 2006, the county government had refused to approve funds for it to become operational, meaning it was idle for more than 16 years.
Photo: Huang Ming-tang, Taipei Times
The lack of a local incinerator had forced Taitung to transport trash to be burned elsewhere in Taiwan.
If other local governments refuse to burn Taitung’s trash — as Kaohsiung has done — the county faces a trash issue, the Taitung County Government has said.
The county and the firm that was contracted to operate the incinerator sued each other, with a final ruling in 2011 stating that the contract should be terminated and that the county must buy back the plant and the land for NT$1.96 billion (US$70.45 million).
Taitung Mayor Yao Ching-ling (饒慶鈴) on Tuesday said that the plant would only begin trial operations once it is fully ready.
Having a local facility that can process trash would markedly alleviate Taitung’s trash problem, Yao said.
The Society of Wilderness’ Taitung branch said that the county should establish transparent oversight measures for incinerator reciprocation funds.
The society said that a committee should be established to oversee the plant’s operations.
The county should make its plans public, including how ash is to be dealt with, the society said.
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
SOVEREIGNTY: The rigs show that Beijing ‘rejects Taiwan’s jurisdiction’ by building in areas where Taipei demands permission to build or alter installations Chinese oil rigs have been sighted just 26 nautical miles (42km), from Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙島), posing a threat to Taiwan’s sovereignty if left unchallenged, a brief published by the Jamestown Foundation on Tuesday said. Pratas Island, 444km from Kaohsiung, is northeast of the South China Sea and houses a Taiwanese garrison. The brief, titled “Rigging the Game: PRC Oil Structures Encroach on Taiwan’s Pratas Island” — referring to the People’s Republic of China — analyzed photographs and said that Beijing’s tools to pressure Taiwan now include oil rigs. “Oil rigs now constitute part of Beijing’s
The Taiwan Experience Education Program (TEEP) has funded short-term internships in Taiwan for more than 4,500 young people from more than 40 countries since 2015, with the goal of attracting and retaining international talent, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. Fifty-five colleges launched 514 projects this year, including in fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, medicine and biotechnology, green energy, and sustainability, it said. The program provides research and practical internships in Taiwan for two to six months, and offers cultural exchange and networking opportunities, the ministry said. For example, National Formosa University’s Embedded System and Autopilot Laboratory developed two solar-powered drones in
RSS