The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should stop the Hushan Reservoir (湖山水庫) project within 60 days or face legal action, an alliance of environmental advocates demanded yesterday.
Lin San-chia (林三加), chair of Environmental Law Committee of the Taipei Bar Association, and others, including Robin Winkler, director of the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, made their way to the front of the agency's building where they presented Fan Da-vid (范大維) of the EPA with a letter of demands giving the EPA 60 days to "take appropriate action" over the Hushan situation before they take legal action.
Fan declined to join the group in chanting "Love Taiwan, say no to Hushan Dam."
"The Environmental Impact Assessment for the project was officially completed in 2000, making it seven years old," Lin said. "This is in direct contravention of the 16th statute of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (環境影響評估法), which calls for a re-evaluation of all Environmental Impact Assessments older than three years before a project can go forward."
The groups also maintain that the area in question has been listed by the animal welfare organization BirdLife International as one of the most important nesting sites for the endangered fairy pitta.
These facts were also neglected in the 2000 Environmental Impact Assessments, rendering the survey flawed, Lin said.
Chang Kow-lung (張國龍) last Friday threatened to sue Winkler for "slanderous remarks against the EPA" after Winkler, who is also a member of the Environmental Impact Assessments Committee, said the agency was on the side of business rather than the environment.
Winkler, however, did not play up the role reversal yesterday. Instead, he apologized for any tactlessness.
"I did not grow up in Taiwan and I am still ignorant of many Taiwanese ways," Winkler said, "Maybe my choice of words was unfortunate."
However, Winkler did not back down from his claim that the EPA has been fighting for the business community not the environment.
"The EPA sees its function and the function of the commissioners as passing cases as quickly as possible," Winkler said.
Edward Huang (黃光輝), director-general of the EPA's department of comprehensive planning, disputed that Environmental Impact Assessments for the reservoir site is out of date, saying that the supporting infrastructure has already been built within the three-year limit even though construction has yet to take place.
"[Environmental Impact Assessments Committee] members need to remember that they are an advisory body consulted for their expertise," he said.
Winkler said even the number of projects passed by this Environmental Impact Assessments Committee -- considered so touchy that it was termed the "obstacle" committee -- would result in a more than 40 percent increase in carbon dioxide emitted by Taiwan if they were all developed.
"We need to focus on a sustainable and long-term economy, not a short term economic vision limited to the length of a presidential or legislative term," he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
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
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
RSS