In light of numerous typhoon disasters in recent years, the Ministry of the Interior has drafted a coastline law in an effort to better care for land restoration and conservation.
The draft proposes having the nation’s coastline divided into “preserved areas” and “protected areas,” and that a special unit should be set up to screen coastal developments from a preservationist point of view.
According to an official with the ministry’s Construction and Planning Agency, the spirit of the draft law is to set up a special governmental unit that could preview every coastal -development project with the goal of -preserving coastal geology.
The drafted coastline law would require central authorities to compile basic databases for coastal areas to facilitate research and coastal management, the official said.
Under the proposed law, the nation’s coastal areas would be divided into first and secondary level protected areas.
The first level would prohibit change to the shoreline or restrict uses to those that would keep it in its natural state, said the official, unless approval for other uses is granted by the central authorities.
Secondary level status would designate areas as “buffer zones,” where violations that cause a -natural disaster to occur because of alterations to the natural environment would be punishable with fines of up to NT$600,000 and up to 10 years in prison.
Meanwhile, the draft proposes that areas suffering from erosion, saltwater encroachment and land subsidence be categorized as national geological revitalization areas, requiring them to have a protection plan. The entire coastal management plan, preservation plan and protection plan would be reviewed every five years, the official said.
As it is currently written, the draft act would empower local governments to remove any buildings or land modifications that are obstacles to the implementation of the law. It also proposes granting the Council of Agriculture the power to abolish fishing rights, as well as empowering the Ministry of Economic Affairs to halt all mining and quarrying activities in coastal areas.
However, Lin Tsung-yi (林宗儀), an assistant professor at National Taiwan Normal University, has doubts about the effectiveness of the act, should it be passed.
While the shoreline is public property, there is also private property where hotels are built, such as in Kenting (墾丁), he said.
“It’s like they own the whole beach,” he said. “In such cases, how would the government intercede and manage the coast?”
Some officials also doubt that the proposed bill would make it through the legislature, noting that since its initial draft in the 1990s, it has not won the support of the lawmakers.
Conflict of interest and the noncommittal attitudes of the legislators means the draft only has a slim chance of being put up for review, an official 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