Mudslides and erosion around a support pillar of the Maokong Gondola system have had a negative impact on the system’s capability to withstand an earthquake, but the stability of the pillar would otherwise not be affected, a civil engineering expert said yesterday.
Days before the final evaluation report on the safety of the gondola is expected to be delivered, Shannon Lee (李咸亨), a spokesman for the civil engineering groups invited by the Taipei City Government to conduct the report, said erosion under the pillar — caused by mudslides during a typhoon in September — had reduced the system’s resistance to earthquakes by about 8 percent.
There is no immediate danger that the pillar would collapse, Lee said, while dismissing concerns by local residents that the mudslides were caused by the construction of the system.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
“Judging from the quality of the soil and the overall geology in the area, the mudslides could have happened even if the gondola had not been built,” he said at Taipei City Hall.
The gondola system, completed last year but started under former Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), suspended operations last month after mudslides created by Typhoon Jangmi left a 2.5m gap beneath one of the support pillars.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) has refused to acknowledge that the gondola service was suspended over safety concerns and maintains that the move was made to appease public fears.
Lee declined to comment on the evaluation of the system.
Hau said the city government would respect the report, adding that the safety of residents and visitors was the city government’s only priority.
The report will be published on Sunday. Hau said the city government would announce its decision on how to proceed in about two weeks.
Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials including Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) are to be summoned for questioning and then transferred to prosecutors for holding an illegal assembly in Taipei last night, the Taipei Police said today. Chu and two others hosted an illegal assembly and are to be requested to explain their actions, the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng (中正) First Precinct said, referring to a protest held after Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT Taipei's chapter director, and several other KMT staffers were questioned for alleged signature forgery in recall petitions against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. Taipei prosecutors had filed
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
NEW WORLD: Taiwan is pursuing innovative approaches to international relations through economics, trade and values-based diplomacy, the foreign minister said Taiwan would implement a “three-chain strategy” that promotes democratic values in response to US tariffs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. Taiwan would aim to create a “global democratic value chain,” seek to capitalize on its position within the first island chain and promote a “non-red supply chain,” Lin was quoted as saying in the ministry’s written report to the Legislative Yuan submitted ahead of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting slated for today. The Ministry would also uphold a spirit of mutual beneficial collaboration, maintaining close communication and consultations with Washington to show that Taiwan-US cooperation
RSS