SETV has a report on complaints about Tzu Chi, showing their Tanzi operation, which is right by my house. I have long wondered when the Buddhist charitable foundation was going to face criticism from locals.
Criticism was sparked in Taipei over a land deal in Neihu. The Taipei Times reported:
Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation owns 29 plots of land in a geologically sensitive area in Taipei, and it might have exchanged benefits with a private firm during its acquisition of the land, an environmentalist said yesterday.Ko Wen-je, Taipei's iconoclastic mayor, seems to have declared himself in opposition to the construction-industrial state in all its manifestations. Buddhist Master Shih Chao Wei, recently criticized for being seen being bused around in a massive Benz which she says is a friend's, sharply criticized Ko for his comments on the project, objecting to him describing it as a "development project." Others, however, pointed out...
A dispute is raging between environmental groups, including Treasure Our Land, Taiwan — a nongovernmental organization — and Tzu Chi over the foundation’s request to set up a logistics center and a factory on a 4.4-hectare plot of land in Neihu District (內湖).
Tree Party policy director Pan Han-shen (潘翰聲) said that environmental groups oppose the project because it would set a poor precedent, opening the door for large corporations or those with influence to expedite approval for use of land in environmentally protected zones.Because I live next door to the hospital shown in the video, and the mother of the founder lives down the street from me, along with her adopted brother, and because my neighborhood is flooded with Tzu Chi volunteers every Sunday who cut the grass in the vast field shown in the video, I will not publicly comment on Tzu Chi.
He said the Tzu Chi Foundation had sought to have the project approved as an individual case, without considering the wider impact it would have and that it has refused to have the project undergo an environmental impact assessment.
UPDATED: Another one out today asserting based on the EPA EIA that the Tanzih complex is located right on a major fault. This simple map shows the fault line running right next to the hospital complex on the NE side of Taichung.
UPDATED: Solidarity.tw with the translation of the SETV report (article) on Tzu Chi's land development issues.
UPDATED: Solidarity again with a translation of a dissection of Tzu Chi expenses.
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Daily Links:
- With the Shihmen Reservoir at its second lowest level ever, this old post on drought in Taiwan from 2010 is worth a re-visit. Spring weather forecast has no significant rain expected.
- Taiwan squid boat missing in remote South Atlantic
- With Indonesia halting exports of laborers to Taiwan, the government may lift the ban on Vietnamese laborers. Myanmar is also being discussed.
- New Power Party's platform at Thinking Taiwan.
- Former Premier Jiang Yi-huah will serve a year as a visiting scholar at Harvard and Stanford. These sorts of exchanges show how the KMT retains so much influence over interpretations of Taiwan.
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