The nation’s urban forests must be considered national infrastructure, on a par with power and water supply, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday at the seventh National Climate Change Committee meeting, citing the warm weather this spring as proof that climate change is an ongoing issue.
The previous meetings have laid the groundwork for the nation’s carbon-reduction and energy policies, but as summers grow hotter, the government must take additional measures, Lai said.
Carbon emissions must be reduced as a long-term defense, but efforts must also be made to adapt to current conditions he added.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office
In the face of heat waves, droughts and floods, Taiwan cannot afford to be passive, Lai said, adding that the Ministry of Environment is putting forward a nationwide tree-planting plan, building upon the “urban forest” initiative he announced on Arbor Day.
For the initiative to succeed, the nation must use scientific methods to determine the best locations to plant trees and ensure that the resulting foliage effectively reduces heat, he said.
Local and central governments must also collaborate to systematically connect the urban forest to existing green belts, communal parks and natural forests, Lai said, adding that it would also enhance national defense.
The goal is to break away from localized management and ensure that a land-based green network would be established and jointly managed, he said.
The government should encourage nationwide participation in the initiative, combining government and private resources, as well as mobilizing communities to work together toward environmental conservation, he added.
Deputy Minister of Finance Lai Chien-hsin (賴建信) said the government is to invest NT$553.1 billion (US$17.48 billion) from this year to 2031 in the implementation of national water management policies and projects to better address potential disasters caused by torrential rainfall or drought.
Upgrading the issue from management by local departments to the national level allows the central government to have oversight over all projects, and ensures that it and local governments are working toward the same goal, the minister said.
Scientific analysis and geospatial data would be used to identify industries with high water usage and high-risk mudslide areas, he said, adding that ministries would work together to ensure that projects are highly integrated.
The goal is to ensure that there is sufficient water, even in a disaster, and that natural bodies of water are clean and can support wildlife, he said.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over
UNFOUNDED CONCERNS: Public concerns that allowing Indian workers to come and work in Taiwan would lead to increased sex crimes are baseless, the labor ministry said Amid public concern over the government’s plan to bring Indian workers to Taiwan, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) pointed to past intake and said that public safety remained stable. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on April 9 told the legislature that the first group of Indian workers could arrive as early as the end of this year. Taiwan and India signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in February 2024 to address Taiwan’s labor shortage. The MOU was sent to the Legislative Yuan for review in mid-2024 and received cross-party backing, prompting the MOL to begin follow-up negotiations with India, Hung said. Public
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