Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀) yesterday brought up the decade-old issue of relocating the Legislative Yuan, urging the legislature to carry out the move as soon as possible.
The legislature should be relocated to the site that previously housed the Ministry of National Defense’s Air Force Command Headquarters, which has been relocated to Taipei’s Dazhi District (大直), Chen told a press conference.
The legislature pays NT$53.23 million (US$1.78 million) a year in rent to the Taipei City Government for its present site.
Even though a relocation proposal was submitted in 1992 and the proposal was passed with a budget of NT$10 billion, the legislature remains at the same location 20 years later, Chen said.
“The inaction on relocation, a plan that has been approved, is very ironic for the Legislative Yuan as a law-making institution. Paying so much rent every year is a waste of public funds,” he said.
Given the density of the neighborhood, the timeworn buildings and the less-than-satisfactory equipment and interior design, the legislature “doesn’t look like a national congress at all,” he said.
As the 7.2 hectare block where the air force command used to be is exceptional for both its size and prime location, Chen said he feared it would be purchased and developed by a property developer in the future.
However, Kuo Hsio-jung (郭曉蓉), an official of the National Property Administration, said the land would not be developed as a housing project after it was transferred back to the administration from the defense ministry without the agency’s approval.
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
‘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
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