University students save old camphor tree

The old camphor tree is among a line of old trees along Hsuchow Road that sits on a piece of land which a land developer has acquired for the construction of a big apartment building.

The land developer held a briefing in May, explaining it wanted to remove the tree and transplant it elsewhere. However, residents in the neighborhood and faculty and students of the university insisted that removal of the old camphor tree would spoil the “green tunnel” formed by old trees along the road where the tree is located.

Several protests have been held over the past few months whenever the developer sends in workers to remove the tree, whose ownership is ambiguous. Pan Han-shen, secretary-general of the Green Party Taiwan, said Saturday that trees should be considered public properties. The land developer, however, has argued that as owner of the land, the company is entitled to decide whether to remove the tree.

The land developer complained that the construction project has been delayed for months and caused serious losses to the company. It is hoping that the city authorities will make a decision over the tree transplantation proposal as soon as possible.

For now, the old camphor tree is saved because under the city bylaw, before the Bureau of Public Works issues an approval to the land developer, it cannot be touched, and the land developer has not received a written permission from the bureau stating it can remove the tree, according to Pan.

Despite the fact that the Taipei City Government has put into enforcement the Taipei City Tree Protection Bylaw since April 2003, many old trees in the metropolitan area have been uprooted, with some transplanted, in recent years by land developers.

Under the tree protection bylaw, old trees aged over 50 years and big trees with the girth exceeding 15 meters or the height reaching 15 meters are under protection.

To root up a protected tree for whatever purposes needs the approval of the city government's Bureau of Public Works. Usually the authorities would approve the cases when proper arrangements for transplantation are made.

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