Hundreds of people — mainly university students — last night staged a rally outside the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) to protest a petrochemical industrial park project proposed by Kuokuang Petrochemical Technology Co (KKPTC), ahead of an environmental impact assessment meeting to be held this morning.
Chanting slogans critical of the project, and urging the EPA to reject it, hundreds of students from universities across the country rallied outside the EPA despite the rain and the cool weather.
“We rally here to tell academics and government representatives taking part in the environmental impact assessment meeting that we’re keeping an eye on them,” said Huang Yu-ying (黃裕穎), a junior student at National Tsing Hua University. “The project should be turned down to protect Taiwan’s agriculture and the rich wetland ecosystem.”
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Huang went on to say the site selected for the project on the north side of the mouth of Jhuoshuei River (濁水溪) is one of the very few large wetlands on the west coast following decades of industrial and urban development.
Besides the rich ecosystem of the wetlands, the area is a key agricultural center, with an active marine-farming industry along the coast that produces about one-third of the country’s oysters.
“The wetlands should be declared a natural reserve and properly protected instead of being used for a petrochemical park,” Huang said.
Sharing his concerns, Changhua-based writer Wu Sheng (吳晟) said it was obvious that the economic benefits the development project would bring did not merit the ecological destruction they would cause.
“Petrochemical plants can only last for a few decades, but the rich ecosystem and the deep-rooted farming culture were developed over hundreds if not thousands of years,” Wu said.
“It’s quite obvious how you should choose if the choice is to be made purely based on scientific considerations,” he said.
A 69-year-old man surnamed Wu (吳), born in Changhua but who now runs a bookstore in Taipei, attended the rally and said he would stay overnight to show his concern for his home county.
He recalled how beautiful the Changhua County countryside was when he was a child.
“Development has changed the situation, and the new petrochemical complex would just destroy everything along with the other petrochemical complex already in existence on the south side of the river mouth,” he said. “It’s the capitalists who are going to enjoy the fruits [from the development project], while the people suffer.”
Several bands performed at the rally to show their support.
Hundreds of local residents from Changhua County are scheduled to join the demonstrators this morning as the meeting is scheduled to begin at 9:30am.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
At least 35 people were killed and dozens more injured when a man plowed his car into pedestrians exercising around a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday night. Footage showing bodies lying on the pavement appeared on social media in the hours after the crash, but had vanished by early Tuesday morning, and local police reported only “injuries.” It took officials nearly 24 hours to reveal that dozens had died — in one of the country’s deadliest incidents in years. China heavily monitors social media platforms, where it is common for words and topics deemed
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
RSS