Resort hotels around Sun Moon Lake (
Out of the six major hotels situated around the lake -- including the Lalu, Sun Moon Lake Teacher's Hostel, CYC Sun Moon Lake (China Youth Corps), Hotel del Lago, The Sun Moon Lake and Chinatrust Hotel -- "only Chinatrust and the Teacher's Hostel have not been fined for violating the Environmental Protection Administration's [EPA] water quality control regulations in the past three years," Environmental Quality Protection Foundation chairman Liou Ming-lone (劉銘龍) said.
"Hotels have a social responsibility to ensure the wellness of their surrounding environment, as they depend upon nature and publicly owned resources, such as Sun Moon Lake, for business," he said. "Such behavior is like biting the hand that feeds."
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUI, TAIPEI TIMES
Lu Hung-kuang (呂鴻光), chief of the EPA's Department of Water Protection, yesterday responded to reports by several Chinese-language newspapers that the Lalu topped the list of violators.
The newspapers cited an incident early last year, when a former Lalu employee reported the hotel's illegal installation of a waste water hose that fed directly into the lake.
"The Lalu was fined three times in the past three years, which would make it, comparatively speaking, the most heavily fined [hotel in the area]. However, all the hotels around the lake have been quite compliant with the law," Lu said.
"In fact, Sun Moon Lake boasts the best water quality among all the nation's reservoirs," he said.
In response to the allegations, Lalu assistant general manager Dennis Morinaga said that the incident occurred seven months ago, and the hotel has "since taken action to fully comply with environmental protection laws."
"The hotel's water treatment plant treats 250 tonnes of waste water each day," Morinaga said.
"We were fined in May not because of `waste water' per se," he said, "but for emitting water that is used to cool our air conditioning system."
"We have since upgraded the system to better comply with EPA regulations" and worked within the legal boundaries, he said.
Lee Ming-shuh (李明恕), chief of the water quality and soil conservation section of the county's Environmental Protection Bureau, confirmed the hotel's claims, saying the lake's water quality was excellent, "according to the five water quality detectors we installed in it."
"Moreover, from April to December we have inspected the six hotels a total of 67 times," Lee told Taipei Times, which translates to two inspections per month in the last eight months, far ahead of the EPA's guideline of two inspections per year.
"In the 67 inspections we have reported two unlawful practices," he said, adding that such violations are subject to a fine of between NT$60,000 and NT$600,000.
"One of them was the Lalu in May," Lee said, "The other was on June 25, when the China Youth Corps exceeded the legal amount of waste water emission. They were fined NT$60,000."
"Both occasions were relatively minor," Lee said, adding that: "The hotels responded to correct the problems, and there have been no violations since June."
"The water is good now, and the bureau has made it a top priority to keep it that way," Lee 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
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated