The Chinese-language China Times reported on 13 November that despite the closing of the Sunhai Bridge in Nantou County, local farmers are using a temporary bridge to illegally access the Danda Forestry Road. The Danda Forestry road was closed after widespread flooding caused Typhoon Mindulle in July 2004 prompted a review of Taiwan's land use policies.
The Sunhai Bridge and the Danda Forestry road were built in 1957 by logging tycoon Sun Hai. Sunhai Bridge crosses the Danda River at the terminus of Highway 16 in eastern Nantou County. Beginning at an elevation of 400 meters, the original road extends 62 kilomoters into the heart of Taiwan's central mountain range reaching an altitude of 2400 meters. Sun Hai, who was Chiang Kai-shek's godson, used the road to log 5000 hectares of old growth forest. Taipower extended the road 12 more kilometers to Cicaihu, a mountain lake 2952 kilometers above sea level.
The Executive Yuan announced in July that the Sunhai bridge will not be rebuilt in order to prevent illegal logging and to end high-altitude farming. For more on the government's position, see The Story of Sunhai Bridge (in Chinese) by Chang Jing-sen, Vice-Chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development.