Environmental groups yesterday accused the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) of rushing to approve construction of the Suhua Freeway to woo voters in the run-up to the presidential election on March 22.
"It is regrettable that the EPA has stooped so low as to turn itself into a rubber stamp [for the administration]," Society of Wilderness' Tony Chou (
Chou said that with the freeway being passed under the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration, brownie points from Hualien could be earned.
The pan-blue camp could also get a share of the credit since the main advocate for the freeway is Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Hualien Legislator Fu Kun-chi (
"However, both presidential candidates have maintained an ambiguous position on the issue to retain voters who oppose the freeway," Green Party Taiwan Secretary-General Pan Han-shen (潘翰聲) said.
A gathering of some 20 environmental groups yesterday presented "gifts" -- a piece of mochi for KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
One of the environmental activists said the mochi -- a Hualien sticky rice specialty dessert -- was representative of Ma," a softy who failed to keep Fu under control."
As for the guava for Hsieh, it was a Mandarin pun on his failure to keep his promise of sustainable development for east Taiwan and to "remove himself from President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) influence."
Meanwhile, EPA Deputy Minister Chang Tzi-chin (
"Everything that took place in the meeting proceeded in accordance with the guidelines," he said.
He also rebutted comments that the agency had proposed dividing the freeway into sections to facilitate their review and approval.
"The suggestion that the section of the freeway that runs through mountain areas be built first [and plains later] was proposed in earlier case committee meetings," he said.
"We mentioned the proposal again yesterday as a courtesy to some members who joined the discussion for the first time," he added.
Upon its completion next year, the new Tamkang Bridge (淡江大橋) in New Taipei City is to be an important landmark in Taiwan, alongside Taipei 101, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said today. The bridge is scheduled to be completed in December next year and open to the public in the first half of 2026, connecting New Taipei City’s Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里) districts. It is an asymmetric single-tower suspension bridge, nearly 70 stories tall, designed by world-famous architect Zaha Hadid. The bridge aims to alleviate traffic in Tamsui and on the Guandu Bridge (關渡大橋), in addition to increasing the
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: As some roads would be fully or partially closed, people are advised to take the MRT, with services expanded to accommodate more riders This year’s Taipei Marathon, which has obtained its first gold label certification from World Athletics, is to be held from 5am to 1pm tomorrow and would have 28,000 participants. The race is to start from the Taipei City Plaza and would go through major roads throughout the city, with traffic control implemented from 6am to 2pm, officials said. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and New Taipei City MRT Circle line would start operating at 5am on the day of the race, they said. The race would cover Renai Road, Xinyi Road, Hangzhou S Road, Aiguo east and west roads,
EXERCISES: A 2022 article by a Chinese intelligence expert identified at least six People’s Liberation Army assault boats hidden inside the Hong Kong-flagged ship A Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship that had been docked at Taichung Port and which previously took part in Chinese military exercises departed from the port on Saturday, the Taiwan International Ports Corp’s Taichung branch said yesterday. The statement came in response to a post on the social media platform X by Taiwan-based journalist Chris Horton that said the ship, the SCSC Fortune, had been docked at the port since Tuesday and questioned whether Taiwan has any rules regarding foreign civilian vessels that have participated in People’s Liberation Army (PLA) exercises. Horton referenced a 2022 article by Chinese intelligence expert Rod Lee that
PROBLEMATIC: Popular hotpot restaurant chains were among the list of restaurants that failed the inspection and have been ordered to remove bad ingredients The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of hotpot ingredients in hotpot restaurants resulted in a 16.7 percent failure rate. Eight vegetables had excessive pesticide residue and two other items had aflatoxin and excessive preservatives. As the weather is getting colder, more people eat at hotpot restaurants so a random inspection of ingredients was conducted in October to ensure food safety, the department said. Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) said 60 different ingredients were tested: 15 high-risk vegetables, 15 processed food items, 10 soy-based food items, five meat items, five lamb items, five seafood items and five peanut powder
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