Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) yesterday said the city government would no longer brook references to the city as a “center of crime,” citing the city’s improved national crime ranking from June to last month.
Hu said during a city government meeting about public order that Taichung ranked 12th among cities and counties in the nation in terms of the number of new crime cases per 100,000 residents for four consecutive months from June to September.
For a number of years under Hu, the city had the most new crime cases per 100,000 residents.
PHOTO: CHANG CHIN-YA, TAIPEI TIMES
Most cases were major threats to the population, including burglary, robbery and fraud.
From January to last month, the city ranked fourth in the nation, with 757.76 crimes per 100,000 residents.
However, because Taichung’s ranking dropped to 12th from June to last month, Hu said public order in the city had “come to the middle” and, as a result, he could no longer accept criticism of poor public order.
However, the mayor’s enthusiasm — about one month before the special municipality elections — was met with skepticism.
Calling on Hu not to play with the numbers, Taichung City Councilor Chang Yao-chung (張耀中) said the city’s residents knew very well whether the crime situation in -Taichung had improved.
Five out of 10 residents randomly sampled would tell the mayor that they or their family and friends have been victims of theft, fraud or robbery, Chang said, adding that a woman was also -recently robbed and injured in broad daylight.
Taichung City Councilor Tseng Chao-jung (曾朝榮) said government leaders should make every effort to obtain firsthand information from residents regarding their perceptions of public order.
The city still has more cases of theft, break-ins and robbery than any other place in the nation, Tseng said, adding that -Taichung residents did not seem to feel that public order had improved, despite the mayor’s claims.
Problems with the city’s public order will never improve if the mayor’s only concern is an improvement in the city’s so-called ranking, Tseng said.
Earlier this year, Taichung City Police Commissioner Hu Mu-yuan (胡木源) resigned to take responsibility for poor social order and embarrassing revelations that -police officers had been very close to underworld figures during an investigation into the murder of an alleged gang leader, Weng Chi-nan (翁奇楠), on May 28.
Soon after Hu Mu-yuan’s resignation, the mayor said he was determined to deal with the so-called “eight categories of special businesses” that are regarded as covers for criminal activities.
“As mayor of this city, I will not back down from a war against gangsters even if my life is -threatened,” Jason Hu said.
The eight categories refer to entertainment-related businesses, such as KTV clubs, saunas, night clubs, barber and massage shops, dance halls, discotheques and tea houses, many of which are said to be run by criminal groups.
Given its central location and ease of access, Taichung has long held the unenviable reputation of serving as headquarters for criminal organizations.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
Weather conditions across Taiwan are expected to remain stable today, but cloudy to rainy skies are expected from tomorrow onward due to increasing moisture in the atmosphere, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). Daytime highs today are expected to hit 25-27°C in western Taiwan and 22-24°C in the eastern counties of Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung, data on the CWA website indicated. After sunset, temperatures could drop to 16-17°C in most parts of Taiwan. For tomorrow, precipitation is likely in northern Taiwan as a cloud system moves in from China. Daytime temperatures are expected to hover around 25°C, the CWA said. Starting Monday, areas
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
Taiwan has recorded its first fatal case of Coxsackie B5 enterovirus in 10 years after a one-year-old boy from southern Taiwan died from complications early last month, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. CDC spokesman Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) told a news conference that the child initially developed a fever and respiratory symptoms before experiencing seizures and loss of consciousness. The boy was diagnosed with acute encephalitis and admitted to intensive care, but his condition deteriorated rapidly, and he passed away on the sixth day of illness, Lo said. This also marks Taiwan’s third enterovirus-related death this year and the first severe
RSS