Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said he has ordered all Taipei City Government departments to draft a complete list of all municipal property, after discovering that the controversial bus lane on Zhongxiao W Road includes a bus stop that is not listed as belonging to the city.
The move followed a statement by city government spokesman Sidney Lin (林鶴明) that said former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) administration had failed to turn over a detailed inventory of city property when it handed over power to Ko’s administration.
“Because a substantial portion of the inventory was done carelessly, it is necessary to review all property records,” Ko said. “While roadside structures are difficult to inventory and it is unclear how they should be registered, they are still municipal property.”
Lee Kun-chen (李昆振), a section chief at the Taipei Transportation Department’s planning division, said that the city’s bus stops are normally not registered as belonging to the local government, but that the department is now reconsidering this.
Ko also criticized Hau’s management of city-directed construction projects, including the 2017 Universiade athletes’ village in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口) and a planned underground tunnel linking the Taipei Dome and the National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.
Meanwhile, Ko criticized the National Taxation Bureau of the Northern Area, amid reports that it summoned his parents to provide documentation showing that NT$10 million (US$313,000) they gave him to buy a new house had been a personal “loan” and not a “gift,” which would make it liable for taxation.
The move sparked speculation that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration is targeting the independent mayor.
“The election is over,” Ko said. “This way of doing things goes beyond the scope of what ordinary citizens will stand for.”
He asked rhetorically if the government had nothing better to do, asking why officials had suddenly become so “industrious.”
Ko refused to comment further on the bureau’s actions, instead calling repeatedly for a “high-enough ranking” bureau official to give a public explanation before he says anything more on the issue.
“No one makes their children write out a receipt when lending them money,” Ko’s mother, Ho Jui-ying (何瑞英), said separately yesterday.
In a statement, the bureau said it was simply carrying out its duty to investigate all reports of tax fraud.
Bureau Director-General Lee Ching-hua (李慶華) was quoted by media as saying that the bureau had intentionally waited until last year’s Nov. 29 nine-in-one elections were over before pursuing the case against Ko’s parents.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old