Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday vowed to rejuvenate the city with urban renewal projects, municipal developments and better public service in the next four years as he was sworn in in a ceremony that marked the beginning of his second term.
Taking the official seal from Vice Premier Sean Chen at Taipei City Hall, the mayor pledged to focus his second term on policies that will turn Taipei into a younger and more energetic city, including offering childbirth subsidies, zero-interest loans for startup businesses and overseas studies and affordable rental housing units.
“Taipei is a great city, but not young enough ... The policies are aimed at attracting younger people to work and live in Taipei ... I will be the mayor of all citizens and increase the city’s international competitiveness,” Hau of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said.
In his inauguration speech, Hau promised to enhance communication with the public and make more efforts to explain municipal policies to the people.
“Communication is the most important thing I’ve learned in the past months during the election campaign. I will communicate with the public more and carry out my campaign promises,” he said.
The city government will also include issues raised by the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), who lost to Hau in the Nov. 27 mayoral election, such as planting more trees and building green boulevards in the city, in discussions for municipal developments, Hau said.
For his second term, Hau promised to complete the road surface improvement project that will make 675 major roads in the city more even and push further for the 1999 Taipei Citizen Hotline to offer 24-hour service to residents.
He said he would also work closely with New Taipei City (新北市, the proposed English name of the upgraded Taipei County) Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) over the next four years to turn the banks along the Tamsui River (淡水河) into recreational areas and build more MRT lines connecting the two municipalities.
The 37 members of new administrative team in Taipei City were also sworn in. Representing outgoing officials in a farewell speech, former Taipei deputy mayor Lin Chien-yuan (林建元) urged all administrative officials to be able to handle criticisms while focusing the efforts on municipal developments.
“The architect who designed the pavilions at the Taipei International Flora Expo won top awards after being criticized by the press. All officials should be able to take criticisms,” he said.
About 200 guests attended the ceremony yesterday, including former KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄), New Party Chairman Yok Mu-ming (郁慕明) as well as foreign dignitaries.
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