The Taipei City Government’s efforts to host the Universiade in 2017 and the 2019 Asian Games are blatant attempts to boost Mayor Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) image and could lead to huge deficits, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors said yesterday.
After hosting the Deaflympics and the Taipei International Flora Exposition, Taipei City Government is prepared to invest another NT$37.5 billion (US$1.2 billion) to host the 2017 Universiade and NT$59 billion for the Asian Games, the councilors said, adding that the city government should hold a referendum on whether to host the events.
Hau said that like the Flora Expo, the two events would “let the world see Taipei” and were part of efforts to promote the city worldwide.
The athletes’ village for the Universiade could even be converted into city-run residential buildings, Hau said.
DPP City Councilor Wu Su-yao (吳思瑤) said the government’s financial capabilities should be taken into account when deciding whether to host the events.
The Deaflympics cost NT$5 billion and the International Flora Expo another NT$14 billion, Wu said, adding that both events caused some budget problems.
Seventy-two percent of Taipei’s secondary reserve funds were injected into the flora expo and the public had no say on how the money was spent, Wu said, adding that the investment in the Universiade and the Asian Games would account for more than half of Taipei’s NT$180 billion annual budget.
“It’s an astronomical figure,” Wu said, adding that such amount would be sufficient to build another Wenhu MRT line.
DPP City Councilor Lee Ching-feng (李慶鋒) said the Hau administration was using international events as a panacea.
Such decisions could leave a financial mess for Hau’s successor and risk sacrificing the general development of the city, Lee said, adding that the city council was not notified of the decisions and residents had no idea of how the funds were being spent.
“It’s like advancing a check with the people’s hard-earned money,” Lee said.
Taipei would have to spend close to NT$31.4 billion on facilities, such as an athletes’ village, Lee said, adding that the Hau administration’s listing of the controversial Taipei Dome as the location for the Universiade’s opening ceremony was a blatant use of the event to hand out favors to corporations “against the will of the people.”
Translated by Jake Chung, Staff Writer
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
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
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
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS