The controversial Meinung Reservoir project is “no longer an issue,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said on Sunday, as she pledged to protect the environment in the predominantly Hakka community.
Tsai made the remarks during a visit to Kaohsiung to attend the Yellow Butterfly Festival in Meinung Township (美濃).
Now in its 20th year, the festival was originally launched amid public opposition to the reservoir project, whose proposed site allegedly lies on the Jhutoushan Fault (竹頭山斷層).
Photo: Chen You-cheng, Taipei Times
The project’s detractors say the proposed reservoir would flood the habitat of the lemon emigrant butterfly (Catopsilia pomona) and a range of animal species native to Meinung.
In a speech, Tsai spoke out against the contentious project.
“After 20 years, I believe that the Meinung Reservoir is no longer an issue,” she said.
She said that without a catchment basin, she would endeavor to overcome the “daunting task” of ensuring a safe water supply in a sustainable manner if she becomes president.
She also praised local environmentalists’ conservation efforts, which she said have resulted in a steady increase in the number of lemon emigrant butterflies in the region.
“It is our shared hope to conserve this area to achieve biodiversity,” Tsai said.
Meinung People’s Association director Arthur Liu (劉孝伸) said the theme of this year’s event was pursuing eco-friendly and sustainable development in the spirit of the Satoyama Initiative.
This can be achieved by refraining from using pesticides and herbicides and practicing sustainable fishing methods to achieve biodiversity.
He said that over recent years, the number of lemon emigrant butterflies has risen significantly in Meinung and the nearby Liouguei District (六龜).
He said that after rain, thousands of butterflies cover the sky of the Yellow Butterfly Jade Valley in Meinung, which attracts visitors from across the nation to witness the spectacle.
The event also features a ritual to worship the Bogong (伯公), Hakka deities that watch over the mountains and wildlife, as well as the spirits of wild animals slaughtered by humans.
The ritual is held to repent for human wrongs and to pray for stability and abundance in residents’ lives, Liu said.
Performing art groups Assignment Theater and Dada Idea also graced the event with their shows, which featured plots based on historical events in Meinung, including protests against the reservoir project.
Liu said the serious air pollution in Kaohsiung related to the amount of water consumed by manufacturing plants, because if they were to consume more water than they currently use, their production capacity would also increase, resulting in even more air pollution.
In response to comments by Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), who said she would seek to “overturn” the business structure of the municipality for environmental conservation, Liu called on Chen to put forth a roadmap for the plan.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
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
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS