TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) will convene with leaders from prominent environmental organizations at the Presidential Office (總統府) on Tuesday (April 22) to address an ambitious slate of 60 fresh environmental oversight proposals. The initiatives, formally presented during the recent National NGOs Environmental Conference (NGO環境會議), represent a coordinated push by advocacy groups urging presidential directives to relevant government agencies for swift implementation.
Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華), who chairs the Taiwan Water Resources Conservation Union (台灣水資源保育聯盟), spotlighted urgent concerns from residents of Dalinpu (大林蒲), an industrial zone community seeking government-assisted relocation. Chen advocated for decoupling the community's relocation plan from environmental reviews for a proposed materials recycling industrial park. In a separate appeal, Hsieh Chih-cheng (謝志誠), president of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (台灣環境保護聯盟), noted Taiwan's approaching milestone of becoming nuclear-free by May 17 while pressing the Nuclear Safety Commission (核安會) to uphold rigorous safety protocols.
Wang Hsing-chih (王醒之), who leads the environmental law organization Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association (台灣蠻野心足生態協會), expressed grave security concerns regarding recent Chinese military exercises that simulated attacks on Taiwan's Yongan Liquefied Natural Gas Plant (永安天然氣接收站), a critical energy infrastructure facility. Wang implored President Lai to incorporate these threats into national security planning. The meeting agenda also includes animal welfare considerations, with Dan Chou (周瑾珊), deputy executive director of the Life Conservationist Association (關懷生命協會), proposing four specific measures to strengthen animal protection education programs.
Li Hua-ping (李華萍), representing the grassroots organization Treasure Our Land, Taiwan (惜根台灣協會), conveyed mounting resistance from residents of Shezidao (社子島), a long-neglected island community in Taipei's Tamsui River. The controversy centers on perceived rushed approvals by the Ministry of the Interior (內政部), Taiwan's national authority for land administration, regarding the scope of a development project that would require significant land expropriation from current inhabitants. ★
