Environmentalists yesterday blasted the Taipei City Government’s decision to go ahead with the construction of the Beitou Gondola, accusing the government of placing political interests above public safety.
The activists accused Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) of either tampering with figures to avoid an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the Beitou Gondola or having a poor knowledge of EIA regulations.
“The Beitou Gondola will have every problem that the Maokong one has — and many more,” said Lynn Lin (林子凌), secretary-general of the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association.
Despite mounting concerns over the Maokong Gondola’s safety, “the Taipei City Government has autocratically decided to go ahead with the Beitou project,” Lin said.
The city government is fully aware that the Beitou Gondola will be built on sensitive areas that are prone to landslides — from the foot of Yangmingshan to the top of the national park — as park authorities have highlighted the risks before, Lin said.
“This is placing political interests before people’s lives, [not to mention] a blatant waste of taxpayer’s money and damage to the environment,” she said.
Lin said this was a case of history repeating itself.
The city government commissioned the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in 2000 to 2002 to inspect the areas in Muzha (木柵) prior to the construction of the Maokong Gondola and received a report showing that not only was the area sensitive and prone to landslides, the Hsindian Fault runs through the area.
“However, the city still went ahead with the construction,” she said.
Green Party Taiwan Secretary-General Pan Han-shen (潘翰聲), who was also present at the press conference, said: “A wrong political decision is more severe than embezzlement, it poses an even larger risk to the public.”
Showing reporters a graph that ITRI had made, Lin said: “You don’t have to be an expert to know that this is dangerous.”
Lin also accused the city of dodging an EIA for the Beitou project like it did for Maokong, adding that Hau was a “co-conspirator in fraud.”
“EIA regulations state that development projects of more than 10 hectares have to go through an EIA, but in the proposal, the city states that the Beitou Gondola would cover only 9.5 hectares,” she said. “This is a case of document fraud, as according to EIA regulations, the development area should be calculated based on the area of the construction base.”
In the document the city tallied up the area of the construction base of three out of four stations, as well as the area where the cable would pass. However, it used the building area of the station at the foot of the mountain for calculations instead of the construction base area, she said, adding that this was a clear violation of the EIA law and evidence the city was trying to avoid an EIA.
“Whereas the construction base area is 3.9 hectares, the building is only 500m² ... The actual area of the Beitou project should then be well over 12 hectares,” she said.
“This document was sent to and approved by Hau, who was then the Environmental Protection Administration minister,” Lin said.
“If the project was truly 9.5 hectares, why should the city even bother informing the EPA? By approving it, Hau is either in on it with them, or not knowledgeable about EIA regulations,” she said.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
RSS