New Taipei City fishers vowed a “fight to the end” after Germany-based energy company EnerVest scheduled briefing sessions on its wind farm projects in the seas near Pengjia (彭佳嶼), Mianhua (棉花嶼) and Huaping (花瓶嶼) islets.
EnerVest’s publicity materials showed that it plans to build 520 turbines in three wind farms of about 1,000 square kilometers near the islets of Pengjia, Mianhua and Huaping.
Speaking at a local fishers’ association meeting in Wanli District (萬里), New Taipei City Councilor Pai Pei-ju (白珮茹) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on Tuesday slammed EnerVest, saying that the company’s low-key announcements all but ambushed her constituents.
EnerVest planned to hold briefing sessions in Jinshan (金山) and Wangli (萬里) districts, but gave little notice, Pai said, adding that she did not learn of the dates until her staffers pressed the company’s representatives.
“They only told me that the events were tentatively set for December,” she said. “This looks like they are deliberately obstructing and keeping the people’s representatives in the dark.”
Her intent is to ensure the transparency of information and full participation of the public, not whether local residents approve the wind farms, Pai said.
The fisheries near the three islets are rich in squid, roe-bearing flying fish, belt fish and crabs, Wanli fishers’ association president Lien Tsung-ming (練聰明) and Jinshang fishers’ association president Hsu Kuo-liang (許國亮) said.
Trawling, crab caging and restaurants would all be affected if the wind farms disrupted the fisheries, they said.
Rueifang fishers’ association president Huang Chih-ming (黃志明) said that the 1km gap between turbines would present a navigational hazard for boats, while low-frequency noise pollution might affect the migrant birds of Jinshang and Huaping Islet.
In November, Keelung Mayor Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said that he was opposed to the wind farms and urged New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) to listen to his city’s residents.
New Taipei Fisheries and Fishing Port Management Office Director Chang Li-chen (張麗珍) said that EnerVest and not the central government was responsible for choosing the sites, and that the city government would pass the residents’ opinions to the central government.
“We hope our residents will go to the briefing sessions and we absolutely will do all that we can to help fishers,” she said.
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
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
RSS