TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Environment held a public Environmental Impact Assessment review for a high-speed rail extension to Yilan, drawing a large crowd of supporters and detractors on Monday morning.

Those supporting the extension said the East Coast was long overdue for infrastructure development. Those against the extension said the EIA lacked detail and was not comprehensive, per CNA.

As of 9 a.m., the MOENV said 45 people had registered to attend the meeting and 34 people had registered to speak. The public hearing was modeled on a previous public EIA review for the fourth liquefied natural gas terminal of the Concord Power Plant (Hsieh-ho).

Supporters of the extension held up banners and called upon the EIA committee to pay attention to the fair distribution of transportation resources in eastern Taiwan. They said the new high-speed rail station would spur regional development and boost local businesses.

Meanwhile, the opposition called for the suspension of the EIA process until the Control Yuan rules on whether the review was comprehensive and complete. They also called for the inclusion of the Railway Bureau's alternatives to the high-speed rail extension to be included in the review for comparison.

According to a 2020 Ministry of Transportation and Communications White Paper, extending the high-speed rail to Yilan will open up a railway bottleneck between Shulin and Qidu and improve the speed and reliability of the eastern rail system. After the extension is complete, the journey will be cut by 27 minutes compared to traveling on the Taiwan Railway.