First urban planning review meeting for Phase 3 of the Hsinchu Science Park draws environmental protest over farmland destruction; Hsinchu County Government says no decision has been made yet
The Hsinchu County Government renamed and restarted the expropriation case for Phase 3 of the Hsinchu Science Park (hereinafter referred to as "Park Phase 3"), and held the first county urban planning review subgroup meeting on the afternoon of yesterday (the 31st). The Environmental Rights Foundation, the Zhudong Township Coarse Grains Production and Marketing Group, the Homemakers United Foundation, and other environmental groups held a press conference in front of the Hsinchu County Government building at noon yesterday to protest the county government's fire sale of high-quality farmland. They pointed out that the development plan will affect the water quality of the Touchien River and impact domestic water use in Hsinchu, and demanded a return to farming on farmland and greater attention to local water resources and food security, shouting "No pollution, keep the good farmland for future generations!" and calling on the county government to withdraw the case.
Chen Wei-chih, director of the Department of International Industry Development of the Hsinchu County Government, responded that the opinions expressed by all sectors would be taken into reference, but explained that yesterday was only a special subgroup meeting of the urban planning committee, that no substantive decision had been made yet, and that discussion had not yet entered the full committee stage.
Development case renamed and restarted, "old wine in a new bottle"; urban planning review meeting lacks public opinion
Kuo Hung-yi, a full-time lawyer at the Environmental Rights Foundation, further pointed out that the county government's renaming and restarting of the Park Phase 3 development case this time, under the proposal "Change of the Main Plan for the Designated Area of Zhudong Township (ITRI and Nearby Areas)," is actually similar in content to the old development plan (titled "Main Plan for the Designated Area of the Hsinchu Science Industrial Park"). He said bluntly that the government only re-established the name to conceal the development purpose because it feared it would be questioned, and that in reality it was "old wine in a new bottle."
In addition, he also believed that the Hsinchu County urban planning review meeting suffers from a problem of opaque meeting information. The time and place of meetings are not announced in advance, and observation is not open to the public. People with petitions often have to leave right after expressing their opinions and do not know whether their opinions have been recorded or adopted. He pointed out that such a decision-making process seriously lacks citizen participation and dialogue mechanisms.
In response, Chen Wei-chih, director of the Department of International Industry Development of the Hsinchu County Government, said that the county government needs to consider land demand for the next 10 to 25 years and plan ahead, and that it is impossible to begin handling the matter only when there is actual demand for land use, because industry entry, applications for land use changes, and environmental impact assessment procedures all take time.
In the face of yesterday's protest by environmental groups, he said that the opinions expressed by all sectors would be taken into reference, but explained that yesterday was only a special subgroup meeting of the urban planning committee, that no substantive decision had been made yet, and that discussion had not yet entered the full committee stage.