A new debate is brewing over an area in Chiku township (
The area is a promising sightseeing spot, Tainan County Gov-ernment officials said yesterday, but ecologists warned that visiting crowds may upset the balance of nature on the site.
Tainan County Commissioner Su Huan-chih (
Foreign ecologists suggested that the pavilions near black-faced spoonbills' wintering site should left alone for quiet bird watchers rather than made accessible to tourists and vendors.
Su said the council's announce-ment of laws regulating the black-faced spoonbill reserve would serve to guide local authorities in how to wisely manage the area.
"We plan to build a research center near the black-faced spoon-bill habitat for ecologists and organizations to further protect the fragile ecological system in Chi-ku," Su said.
The area has been controversial since 1993, when the Tuntex Group and Yieh-loong Group proposed building the Pinnan Industrial Complex (濱南工業區) to promote petrochemical and steel-making industries. Since then, conservationists have protested against the industrial usage of Chiku Lagoon, a wintering site for endangered black-faced spoonbills.
According to conservationists, the world population of black-faced spoonbills is estimated at less than 1,000. The endangered bird breeds on islets near the Korean Peninsula, spending wintertime in places ranging from Japan and China to Taiwan and Vietnam.
On average, about 600 black-faced spoonbills migrate to Chiku.
The Environmental Protection Administration is evaluating the environmental impact assessment the Pinnan project would have on the area, focusing on water supply and harbor usage issues.
Earlier this year Su proposed scrapping the Pinnan project and developing the area as an eco-tourism site, an idea which gained the support of President Chen Shui-bian (
On Aug. 22 in Chiku, Chen said that he would fully support Su's idea to establish a "Nanying national scenic area," arguing eco-tourism in coastal counties, including Yunlin, Chiayi and Tainan, should be promoted.
Chen Jin-an (
"We aim to ensure Chiku's sustainability through promoting low-density, high-quality eco-tourism," he said.
At this weekend's conference, Peter Schleifenbaumof the Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve in Ontario, Canada and Terry Brown, professor of Griffith University in Australia, will share their experiences balancing eco-tourism and conservation.
King Hen-biau (
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
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