Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers yesterday urged the military to reconsider its plan to reconfigure a section of road in Taitung County for use as an emergency airstrip, saying that the change could destroy nearby farmland.
The Ministry of National Defense is reportedly planning to upgrade a portion of Provincial Highway No. 9 in Taitung County’s Guanshan Township (關山) so that the road can be used as a military runway in the event of war.
KMT lawmakers Huang Chien-pin (黃建賓), Sra Kacaw and Huang Jen (黃仁), as well as Taitung County Commissioner Yao Ching-ling (饒慶鈴), Guanshan Township Mayor Peng Cheng-feng (彭成豐) and about 100 local residents expressed their opposition to the plan, which they said could affect residents’ livelihoods.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
“Is it reasonable to destroy an important granary in Hualien and Taitung on the east coast of Taiwan to build an emergency runway even though there is no war yet?” Huang asked at a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
Huang said that while he supports enhancing Taiwan’s national defense capabilities, he is opposed to building an emergency runway in Guanshan without thorough communication with local residents and proper planning.
The air force said it has worked with the Taitung County Government to convene two coordination meetings and two briefing sessions to address public concerns, and would continue to take public feedback into account.
The airstrip proposal is part of broader improvements to the highway that have been made in coordination with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ Highways Bureau, the air force said.
The plan is designed to minimize any impact on residents’ livelihoods, and is in response to a potential enemy threat, the air force said.
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