A resort planned near Taitung County’s Shanyuan Bay (杉原灣) on Wednesday failed an environmental assessment for the second time, dealing another blow to the project, which has been languishing in review for 16 years.
Reviewers deliberated for 15 minutes before rejecting the application to allow construction of the project, which has been dubbed the “most troubled zombie tourism investment in history.”
The projected Dulan Bay Golden Sea Resort, which would include a 500-room hotel complex on an 11.3-hectare plot, was initially granted environmental approval in 2000.
Photo: Huang Ming-tang, Taipei Times
However, as construction did not begin within three years, the developers were legally required to submit another assessment report analyzing environmental changes.
Residents and environmental advocates protested the project, saying that it would damage an archeological site and coral reefs, and that it would encroach on Amis lands without the developer having properly communicated with the communities.
The site is near Beinan Township’s (卑南) Fushan (富山), where ancient pottery remains have been discovered.
In the intervening years, the project proposal underwent eight committee meetings and two assessments before the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) returned the case to the Tourism Bureau in 2018.
The bureau in 2020 submitted the case again, but the same objections remained, leading to Wednesday’s rejection, which came after the developer failed to present a report.
The developer said it would respect the committee’s decision, and consider the possibility of downsizing the project and preserving the archeological site.
Although it did not send a representative to the meeting, the bureau submitted a letter saying that the market has changed significantly since the project was first approved more than 20 years ago and the original financing plan no longer applies.
The developer said it on Jan. 25 received a letter saying that it had one year to submit a revised business plan.
Without asking further questions, the reviewers unanimously voted to reject the plan.
Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan deputy executive director Tsai Chung-yueh (蔡中岳) said that the project exposes loopholes in Taiwan’s environmental review mechanism.
Even though the project had been rejected, the case was resubmitted, wasting resources and causing years of torment for the developer and residents, Tsai said.
The EPA should settle old cases and ask the bureau to complete its promised assessments of east coast projects to avoid the situation from happening again, he added.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
Weather conditions across Taiwan are expected to remain stable today, but cloudy to rainy skies are expected from tomorrow onward due to increasing moisture in the atmosphere, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). Daytime highs today are expected to hit 25-27°C in western Taiwan and 22-24°C in the eastern counties of Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung, data on the CWA website indicated. After sunset, temperatures could drop to 16-17°C in most parts of Taiwan. For tomorrow, precipitation is likely in northern Taiwan as a cloud system moves in from China. Daytime temperatures are expected to hover around 25°C, the CWA said. Starting Monday, areas
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated