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.
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS