Environmental groups yesterday urged the Taichung City Government to cancel the Tungho Industrial Park (通和產業園區) project, saying that it is a rehash of the closed Ching Chuang Kang Industrial Park (清泉崗產業園區) project and should not have entered the environmental impact assessment (EIA) review process.
Government Watch Alliance chief executive officer Hsu Hsin-hsin (許心欣) said the habitats of ring-necked pheasants and leopard cats in Dadu Mountain (大肚山) would be fragmented by the proposed nearly 20-hectare project area, which is long and narrow in shape.
She also condemned the city government for failing to extend the regulatory force of the Autonomous Ordinance for the Conservation of Leopard Cats in Taichung (臺中市石虎保育自治條例) to private construction projects as much as to public developments.
Photo courtesy of the groups
Taiwan Academy of Ecology secretary-general Liang Yu-feng (梁羽楓) said that ring-necked pheasants are an endemic subspecies and have almost disappeared from low-lying areas due to urban development.
Data from the Taichung Wildlife Conservation Association showed the bird species’ population declined to about 50 last year from fewer than than 100 in 2020, she said.
There are only three isolated populations left nationwide, Liang said, adding that the population in Dadu Mountain is the smallest.
The region is also a hot spot for leopard cats, which would not have existed without the efforts of dedicated local agricultural workers, she added.
Taiwan Tree Protection Alliance founder Angela Chang (張美惠) said the industrial park’s wastewater would be discharged into Wufu Irrigation Canal (五福圳), the water of which is channeled from the Dajia River (大甲溪) to irrigate local rice fields.
Clean Air Taichung Alliance director Lin Shih-shan (林詩珊), who is also a local resident, said that Dadu Mountain is demarcated as a Category 3 agricultural development zone in the city’s spatial plan, meaning that only agricultural developments are allowed.
The Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau should explain why it allowed a project aiming to use agricultural development land for nonagricultural purposes to enter the EIA review process, she said.
New Power Party (NPP) Taichung chapter chief executive officer Tsou Ming-yen (鄒明諺) said the project’s scope and area are almost the same as the Ching Chuang Kang Industrial Park construction project, which was proposed in 2022 and failed to pass its EIA review.
The NPP filed a criminal complaint against then-developer Chuangli Development Co for allegedly forging documents in its EIA report three years ago, he said.
However, the supervisor of the company, Wang Sung-shan (王松山), was found to also be the person in charge of Chiuting Property Co, the developer of the Tungho Industrial Park construction project, Tsou said.
According to the environmental groups’ news release and an NPP Instagram post on July 14, Wang is on close terms with former Non-Partisan Solidarity Union legislator Yen Ching-piao (顏清標) and his eldest son, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恆).
Yen Kuan-heng’s brother, Yen Chia-yi (顏嘉儀), was a board director of Chuangli Development, the NPP said.
The Wang and Yen families are behind the two projects, and their manipulation of land developments like this and EIA review represents a local systemic “black gold” force, it said.
Development in Taichung should benefit its citizens, not family businesses, the NPP said, urging the city government to cancel the project.
The Tungho Industrial Park project was reviewed in two EIA meetings in November last year and in June, with the developer asked to submit supplementary documents for further review.
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
Carrefour Taiwan is to begin using a new name from the start of July, but it cannot divulge the name until then, the chairman of the supermarket chain's parent company said today. President Chain Store Co chairman Lo Chih-hsien (羅智先) was asked by reporters after a shareholders' meeting to confirm whether the company has settled on a new name for the supermarket brand. In March, the government-registered name of two Carrefour Taiwan branches was quietly changed to "Le Chia Kang" (樂家康) in Chinese, raising speculation that has been selected as the name. Lo said that because of local regulations and contractual obligations, the
The Philippines would likely be involved in any conflict over Taiwan due to its proximity to the democracy claimed by China, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said, reiterating a stance that risks angering Beijing. “In the Philippines, we do not have a choice because Taiwan is so close to the Philippines and we have almost 200,000 Filipino nationals living and working in Taiwan,” Marcos said in an interview with Japanese media in Manila on Monday. The Philippine leader’s comments come ahead of a state visit to Japan next week, where he is to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to discuss security
RSS