Several environmental protection advocacy groups yesterday accused the Miramar Group (美麗華集團) of violating the law by starting construction on a large resort on the only public beach in Taitung despite the failure of an environmental review for the project.
Taiwan Environmental Protection Union secretary-general Ho Tsung-hsun (何宗勳) told a press conference that the Miramar Group did not conduct an environmental review of Taitung's Shanyuan Beach (杉原海岸) for more than a year after it had started construction of the holiday resort.
The resort is a build-operate-transfer project between the Miramar Group and Taitung County Government.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Presenting the media with copies of the meeting records of an official environmental review of the project, Ho said the group continuously violated the Environmental Impact Assessments Act (環境影響評估法), proceeding with construction even though the project failed to pass the official environmental impact evaluation.
Thomas Chan (詹順貴), a lawyer and a member of the Cabinet's Environmental Impact Review Committee, said the Taitung County Government should revoke the resort's construction license as stipulated by the act.
The structures that have been built on the beach should also be demolished, he said.
Liu Chiung-hsi (
Showing a video clip recently shot at the beach showing the construction, Liu said that large amounts of waste soil and concrete were randomly deposited on the beach instead of being properly disposed of.
He added that the debris washed down from the beach during rainy days has polluted the coral ecosystem of the beach.
"No other countries or corporations in the world would disregard their beaches like this," secretary of the environmental union's Taitung branch Lin Yun-ko (
Sam Lin (林聖崇), an experienced environmental activist, called for Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) to determine if any government agencies had profited from the Miramar Group while handling the construction project.
"Election campaigns can be suspended and Taiwan's environment should be given the priority," he said.
After the press conference, the group held a demonstration in front of the Miramar Garden Taipei, a subsidiary of the Miramar Group.
In response, public relations manager of the hotel Huang Sung-han (
Publicist for the Miramar Garden Taipei Lin Yu-cheng (林嶼晟) told the Taipei Times by telephone that construction of the holiday resort construction is an investment project begun by the group's president, Huang Chun-fa (黃春發).
Lin added that the hotel did not know the details of the project as each subsidiary of the group is an independent entity.
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS