The 23 county commissioners and city mayors elected in the Dec. 1 elections took their oaths of office yesterday. And in a sign of difficult times, most promised to boost their local economies.
The handover ceremonies were held under the auspices of the Ministry of the Interior in the requisite counties and cities across the country.
Taoyuan County's new commissioner, Chu Li-lun (朱立倫), said that he would deal with the top three problems he said Taoyuan residents are most concerned about: traffic, security and financial difficulties.
PHOTO: CHEN CHUN-SHENG, TAIPEI TIMES
He said that the Taoyuan County Government will bring more bus-inesses into the county and promised to shorten the application process to obtain permission to build plants in the county.
The new DPP commissioner in Chiayi County, Chen Ming-wen(陳明文), said that since Chiayi is primarily an agricultural region, his government will face tough challenges upgrading the sector to deal with Taiwan's entry into the WTO. He added, however, that "Crisis also means opportunity. I believe that if we cooperate with each other, we will meet the challenges."
The incoming DPP commissioner of Tainan County, Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智), made the same promise in his mainly agricultural county.
Su also promised to establish a biotech park and, like his predecessor Chen Tang-shan (陳唐山), "to bring business from all over Taiwan" into the county.
In Taipei County, re-elected DPP commissioner Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) promised to improve the county's investment environment.
"I will spend every penny appropriately, strengthen the government's administrative efficiency, create more job opportunities and push for greater cooperation between the central and local governments," Su said.
In Miaoli County, independent Commissioner Fu Hseuh-peng (傅學鵬) proposed four goals for Miaoli, including building a university and developing technology, tourism and welfare.
In Hsinchu City, KMT Mayor Lin Cheng-tse (林政則) emphasized his social welfare policy, promising an increase in subsidies for the elderly and women's maternity allowances.
In Taichung City, outgoing mayor Chang Wen-ying (張溫鷹) said she hopes the newly elected mayor, Jason Hu, will help Taichung overtake Kaohsiung and Taipei to become Taiwan's "top city."
The DPP, which controlled 12 districts in 1997, won just nine city and county districts this time around. The KMT, which previously controlled eight counties, was victorious in nine districts.
Independent candidates and the People First Party captured two districts each, while the New Party took only Kinmen County.
Local heads have complained bitterly about their financial plight since the election. Many local government are heavily reliant on loans.
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) promised at a meeting with all of the newly elected leaders last Sunday that the Cabinet will adopt measures to help them cope with their fiscal woes.
Emotional incidents, however, marred the ceremonies in Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Chiayi.
In Chiayi County, outgoing commissioner Lee Ya-ching (李雅景) failed to attend the handover ceremony for "personal reasons." In Taoyuan County, a county councilor heckled outgoing commissioner Hsu Ying-shen (許應深) during his speech and in Hsinchu County, the newly elected commissioner's supporters implored the outgoing commissioner, Lin Kuang-hua (林光華), to end his speech after he had spoken for over an hour.
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TRAINING: The ministry said 87.5 percent of the apprehended Chinese agents were reported by service members they tried to lure into becoming spies Taiwanese organized crime, illegal money lenders, temples and civic groups are complicit in Beijing’s infiltration of the armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report yesterday. Retired service members who had been turned to Beijing’s cause mainly relied on those channels to infiltrate the Taiwanese military, according to the report to be submitted to lawmakers ahead of tomorrow’s hearing on Chinese espionage in the military. Chinese intelligence typically used blackmail, Internet-based communications, bribery or debts to loan sharks to leverage active service personnel to do its bidding, it said. China’s main goals are to collect intelligence, and develop a
RSS