Taiwan leader pushes planning law after deadly typhoon
(10-11 19:38)
Taiwan's president intends to push a tough new planning law designed to prevent a repeat of deadly landslides in August that swept away homes, killing hundreds of people.
The island's first strict national land-planning law is being readied after Typhoon Morakot hit in August, dumping record rains. The widespread mudslides that followed left more than 700 people dead or missing.
The bill, which was approved by the Cabinet last week and is now being considered by parliament, aims to reduce development in environmentally sensitive areas.
''We have learnt a painful lesson'' from Morakot, President Ma Ying-jeou said in a National Day address at the weekend. ``In the future, development of environmentally sensitive areas must be barred or restricted.
''This year will be the turning point of our efforts in national land planning and conservation,'' he added. ''We must pass the law as swiftly as possible.''
The law would affect hot-spring resort and real estate developers as well as tourism operators in the newly protected areas.
People could face jail terms of up to 12 years if an illegal use of land in such areas resulted in fatalities.
Ma's government faced a wave of public anger over its handling of the disaster, plunging Ma into his worst political crisis since taking office in May 2008 and costing Liu Chao-shiuan his job as premier.
Ma's popularity has since rebounded, as the results of a survey showed last week. More than half of respondents supported the way his government responded to Typhoon Parma, which hit the island last week.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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