COUNTY GOVERNMENT TURNS PEACOCK PARK TO HOTEL, SELLS OUT 127 BIRDS|日月潭孔雀園擬改建飯店 拍賣127隻鳥禽

To put idle land to better use and replenish government coffers, the Nantou county government is looking to turn a peacock zoo in the Sun Moon Lake into a hotel through a build-operate-and-transfer project. So far, all of the 127 birds in the zoo, including 77 peacocks, have been sold off. However, those against the project said that there are already enough hotels in the area. The priority, they said, should be put on preserving the zoo and its surrounding greenery. Even on a regular weekday, more than a dozen tourists were visiting the Sun Moon Lake Peacock Zoo. However, a notice could be seen at the front gate, announcing the zoo's imminent closure on October 31st. Soon after its closure, the Nantou County government is set to build a hotel to increasing public revenues. However, more than a few locals believe there are already enough hotels in the area, and that the zoo and its surrounding greenery should be preserved. ==HUANG SHUN-YU, Chief of Toushe Village== We need to balance between tourism and protecting the ecology. I think instead of a hotel, the county government should look into building a world class peacock park out of the existing one. As the countdown to closure begins, staff members have stopped mowing the lawns. But in addition to local residents, many tourists are also reluctant to see the zoo go, saying that this type of facilities are rare in Taiwan. ==MR. WANG, Visitor== In Taiwan, you rarely see places like this, where there are peacocks for viewing. You can turn it into a hotel, but there are already a lot of hotels, aren't there? It won't hurt if there is one hotel less. Not long ago, the county government sold all 127 birds in the zoo in exchange for NT$150,000, a paltry figure in the eyes of many people. However, the local tourism bureau stressed that all transactions were done in accordance with the law. In addition, a portion of the hotel's space and greenery will be opened to the public for free once it is completed. According to the county government, the Sun Moon Lake area can still support more hotels. Besides, the new hotel will hand 3% of its revenues to government coffers and employ at least 30% of its staff locally. The government said, all this could benefit the local economy. TRANSLATED BY：JEFF CHANG 雖然不是假日，還是有不少遊客來日月潭孔雀園參觀，不過大門口已經貼上公告，10月31日就要休園，南投縣府打算在這裡興建觀光飯店，藉此增加縣庫收入，但當地民眾認為，日月潭已經不缺飯店，孔雀園和綠地都應該保留。 ==魚池鄉頭社村長 黃順昱== 那我們兼顧一個觀光 以及生態保育的觀念 那我們倒不如建議我們縣政府 好好的思考一下 乾脆把我們現在有的孔雀園 就把它規劃成一個 世界級的孔雀園 孔雀文化園區 關園倒數計時，園區內卻已經雜草叢生，但不只是當地民眾覺得應該要保留，不少遊客也認為台灣少有類似的園區，要拆掉孔雀園相當可惜。 ==遊客 王同學== 因為這種環境其實蠻少的 台灣蠻少看孔雀的地方 所以對於它蓋飯店 反正飯店那麼多 對不對 也不缺這一個 孔雀園要拆，包括77隻孔雀在內的127隻鳥禽，縣府已經以約15萬元拍賣出去，民眾痛罵根本就是賤賣，縣府觀光處強調，標售一切依法處理，未來也會保留一定比例的綠地。南投縣府表示，日月潭的飯店還未飽和，未來BOT飯店，廠商每年必須繳交3%營業額給縣府，而且不得低於1000萬，也要保留30%的員工，聘用南投縣民，希望能帶動經濟發展。 記者 邱植培 彭煥群 南投報導