A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilor yesterday condemned the Taipei City Government for focusing its efforts on renovating the Bopiliao (剝皮寮) in Wanhua District (萬華) and ignoring adjacent areas.
The city government spent several million dollars last year renovating Bopiliao, an historical block located between Kanding Road, Guangzhou Street and Kunming Street in Wanhua. It became a popular attraction recently after the blockbuster gangster movie Monga (艋舺) featured the old block.
DPP Taipei City Councilor Liu Yao-ren (劉耀仁) yesterday accused the city government of devoting its budget to the renovation of Bopiliao while failing to maintain the nearby Xinfu Market (新富市場), a local market listed as a municipal monument by Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs in 2006.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Several local residents also complained about the city government’s maintenance of the market, which is about 50m away from the Bopiliao.
“My house was crushed by an old tree next to the market. The city government spent all that money to improve Bopiliao and promote tourism, but who cares about our safety?” said Chu Yu-mei (朱玉梅), a local resident.
Liu said the department had neglected the market despite listing it as a municipal monument, and urged the city government to devote more effort to improving the area.
Liu De-chien (劉得堅), a division chief at the department, said the city government had completed its plans for the maintenance and renovation of municipal monuments, and renovation work on the market was scheduled to be completed next year.
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