Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday called on road users to be tolerant of temporary traffic inconvenience on Zhongxiao E Road, as the city government restricts traffic between Section 4 and Section 6 through May 26 for resurfacing work.
The project will make the road surface as smooth as that of a highway, Hau said yesterday while inspecting construction along Section 4.
Taipei City’s New Construction Office will close two lanes of the road to traffic during the construction period, which began on March 26. The number of manholes will also be reduced to improve the road surface.
The resurfacing of Zhongxiao E Road is part of the city’s “Smooth Road Project” (路平專案) aimed at solving long-term problems related to poor road conditions in Taipei.
The city government plans to complete resurfacing work on 77 roads before the end of the year, the mayor said.
The major roads scheduled for improvements also include Chengde, Zhonghua, Linsen, Nangang, Dunhua N, Dunhua S, Changan W, Changan E, Shipai, Xinhai and Minquan E roads.
The Smooth Road Project is expected to be completed by 2014, Hau said.
Hau said he would demand the highest quality from the contractors.
He called on road users to cooperate with construction crews and be tolerant of traffic congestion and other problems caused by the resurfacing.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is