During a talk with students at National Chengchi University, Vice President and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman William Lai (賴清德) asked if they had noticed that “housing prices are decreasing.” The majority of Taiwanese would find it difficult to agree with that idea.
Today, the average housing price in Taipei is so incredibly high that it would take at least 16 years for an office worker to buy an apartment, even if they spent nothing on food.
The government, under pressure from public opinion, has launched 11 waves of anti-speculation measures, yet housing prices remain stubbornly high.
When he was a DPP legislator, Lai proposed relocating the capital, calling on the government to move the Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan from Taipei to central Taiwan to reduce pressure on the capital.
If Lai’s proposal was implemented, there might be a chance to solve the problem of high housing prices. It might also be a chance to plan reasonable locations for the Presidential Office Building, as well as ministries and other agencies, allowing Taiwan’s population and living areas to shift naturally, balancing development between the north and the south, and creating job opportunities while reducing the unemployment rate.
From the perspective of climate change, the relocation of the capital is something that really needs to be planned in advance.
There are precedents in the world where some countries have moved their capitals for different reasons.
During his presidential campaign, Lai should tell the public that relocating the capital is his vision for national development, using it as a policy to attract voters’ support.
Dino Wei works in the information technology industry.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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