Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) promised to facilitate the construction of the American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) new office compound in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) despite protests from local residents and councilors, a US diplomatic cable released online by WikiLeaks showed.
In a meeting with AIT Director William Stanton on Sept. 14, 2009, Hau said the city government had already blocked a local school project at the site to “keep the door open” for AIT’s expansion plans, according to the cable.
In response to Stanton’s call for cooperation from the city with the AIT’s attempt to acquire land adjacent to the new office compound for future use — including housing for AIT personnel or a language school — Hau said that while the city could not sell the land to AIT, a property exchange with the government was possible, the cable said.
Photo: CNA
Taipei City Government spokesperson Chang Chi-chiang (張其強) yesterday said the city did not halt a school project to facilitate the office compound’s construction, adding that many school construction projects in the city had at the time already been cancelled because of a declining number of students, the result of a dwindling birth rate.
“The land housing the AIT’s new office building was legally acquired and the construction project proceeded in accordance with regulations,” he said, dismissing concerns about any measures taken by the city government to facilitate the project.
Construction of the new AIT building, which is set to occupy more than 65,000m2 of government-owned land on Jinhu Road in Neihu, is scheduled to be completed next year.
AIT has signed a contract with the Taiwanese government to lease the land for 99 years for NT$339 million (US$11.6 million). The complex will replace the AIT compound in downtown Taipei that accommodates about 200 US and locally engaged staff, and is protected by Taiwanese police.
However, construction of the AIT office will likely fail to meet the target completion date as obstacles delaying construction were believed to stem from a request by President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration for information on the office’s structure and location, including plans about quarters housing US Marines.
The cable revealed that Hau urged Stanton to be aggressive in arranging such a swap with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which he said was hesitant to take any responsibility.
Stanton is then reported to have expressed his gratitude for Hau’s foresight, saying that the new compound as a significant symbol of friendship and cooperation between the peoples of the US and Taiwan.
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