Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilors yesterday blasted Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) for failing to convince President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to focus more on Taipei in his i-Taiwan 12 infrastructure projects.
The councilors said they were worried that Taipei City’s competitiveness would suffer at the expense of Taoyuan County and Taichung City and accused the Taipei City Government of being passive on the matter.
The i-Taiwan projects, one of Ma’s major economic platforms, proposes putting NT$2.65 trillion (US$81 billion) in government investment over the next eight years into boosting the economy by expanding domestic demand.
Ma promised to invest in cities including Kaohsiung, Taichung and Taoyuan and turn them into major transportation hubs.
Construction projects involving Taipei City make up 5 percent of the proposal, DPP Taipei City Councilor Wu Su-yao (吳思瑤) said.
“As the mayor of the nation’s capital city and one of the KMT’s big names, you failed to seize this opportunity and work for the best interests of Taipei residents,” Wu said at a question-and-answer session at the Taipei City Council.
The projects include building and linking rapid transit networks in cities and counties across the country, turning Kaohsiung into a tariff-free port and eco-park, turning Taichung into an Asia-Pacific maritime and air logistics center and turning Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport into an “airport city.”
The proposal earmarks NT$130 billion for projects in Taipei City, while Taichung City will receive NT$200 billion and Taoyuan County NT$220 billion, Wu said.
DPP Taipei City Councilor Chou Wei-yu (周威佑) condemned Hau for putting less effort into raising the city’s competitiveness than other KMT local government heads have, including Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) and Taoyuan County Commissioner Chu Li-lun (朱立倫).
“You are supposed to be one of the KMT’s four big names along with Hu, Chu and KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yi (吳敦義), but you did not take the chance to seek more for Taipei residents,” Chou said.
Hau dismissed the criticism, saying that some of the projects in Ma’s platform required cross-city cooperation. About NT$70 billion of the i-Taiwan budget would be given to Taipei City for the construction of MRT lines, he said.
DPP Taipei City Councilor Chien Yu-yen (簡余宴) urged Hau to spend more time focusing on the city’s development and look for solutions to problematic projects such as the unpopular Longshan Temple Underground Shopping Mall.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS