Environmental groups marked Earth Day yesterday by issuing four appeals — stop land expropriation; pursue energy transition with caution; set a reasonable price for water; and regulate the treatment of waste.
Environmental groups have put forward a record high 56 proposals this year, which reflects the desperate need for the government to tackle environmental issues, Taiwan Citizen Participation Association director-general Ho Tsung-hsun (何宗勳) told a news conference in Taipei.
Plastic and climate change are among the most relevant environmental issues for this generation, Taiwan Environmental Information Association deputy secretary-general Sun Hsiu-ju (孫秀如) said.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Last month, the UN Environment Programme passed a resolution calling for a global plastic pollution treaty by 2024 to restrict the production of plastics, she said, adding that the association advocates gradually reducing plastic waste from 2025.
Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association chairman Chen Hsien-cheng (陳憲政) said that the alternative energy Taiwan plans to use to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 is natural gas, which is also an emitter of carbon.
Pursuing energy transition in haste by constructing many liquefied natural gas terminals would also compromise the marine environment, he said.
Taiwan Environmental Protection Union president Liu Jyh-jian (劉志堅) said that the Executive Yuan should be the competent authority for a proposed climate change response act if it is to be effective.
As for the proposed carbon pricing scheme, the fee should be set and collected within a year of the act being approved, he said.
The government should reduce carbon emissions and establish clear goals to cut emissions to less than 10 percent by 2025, he added.
Liu also proposed that the government introduce a system to identify natural carbon sinks as soon as possible.
Taiwan Water Resources Protection Union director Jennifer Nien (粘麗玉) urged the government to protect water resources, monitor groundwater usage by industry and impose water conservation fees.
Shezidao Self-help Society spokesperson Li Hua-ping (李華萍) demanded that the government stop rezoning and land expropriation.
The government is forcing residents to take part in development projects under the pretense of cooperation, giving them no choice but to accept compensation and resettlement, which is a serious breach of property rights, right to life, right to housing and human dignity, Li said.
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Celebrations marking Double Ten National Day are to begin in Taipei today before culminating in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on the night of Thursday next week. To start the celebrations, a concert is to be held at the Taipei Dome at 4pm today, featuring a lineup of award-winning singers, including Jody Chiang (江蕙), Samingad (紀曉君) and Huang Fei (黃妃), Taipei tourism bureau official Chueh Yu-ling (闕玉玲) told a news conference yesterday. School choirs, including the Pqwasan na Taoshan Choir and Hngzyang na Matui & Nahuy Children’s Choir, and the Ministry of National Defense Symphony Orchestra, flag presentation unit and choirs,
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