A number of netizens yesterday responded to an online call to rally in front of the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) in Taipei this afternoon to protest against several development projects that are to threaten the endangered leopard cats of Miaoli County.
The call was initiated by the Taiwan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Taiwan SPCA) on Facebook.
The Taiwan SPCA said the endangered leopard cats — with a population estimated to be less than 500 in Taiwan — are facing a survival threat, because their important habitat in Miaoli’s Sanyi Township (三義) would likely be damaged by planned development projects, including a bypass road for Provincial Highway No. 13, a cemetery and a park, and the expansion of Yulon Motor Co’s plant in the area.
As an environmental impact assessment (EIA) meeting is scheduled to be held this afternoon at the EPA to review the bypass project, the group called for the public to help save the leopard cats by attending a “pass by” protest today, and also by writing letters to EPA Minister Wei Kuo-yen (魏國彥) to express their opposition to the road development.
The term “pass by” is an allusion to a statement made by the Taipei City Police Department earlier this month when it said an unauthorized rally held by former gang leader Chang An-le (張安樂) in support of the cross-strait service trade agreement was legal, because the demonstrators had been merely “passing by.”
According to the Taiwan SPCA, the road would cut through the species’ most important habitat, causing the leopard cat population to be split in two in two separate areas. This would cause the cats’ natural reproduction to become even more difficult, because studies have shown that leopard cats do not like asphalt roads, so they seldom cross a road and when they do, they often get killed by vehicles.
The road project’s previous report to the EIA did not even mention the species and the county government only recently mentioned a plan to buy another piece of land for the cats to live in, the Taiwan SPCA said, but whether the cats will move to the new area is not known.
The organization added that the estimated cost of the 8km bypass is about NT$5.2 billion (US$175.2 million), which is more expensive than the average price per kilometer paid for the Sun Yat-sen Freeway (Freeway No. 1), but the road is actually unnecessary because traffic congestion only occurs on a few peak periods on weekends or holidays.
The EPA said it would allow only 20 representatives from both sides of the road construction project to participate in the EIA meeting this afternoon.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
RSS