Starting in Taipei today, Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) is visiting 19 sites that have been proposed as possible new locations for the Legislative Yuan.
You yesterday thanked the local governments, saying that he would assess the viability of each location.
The building that houses the Legislative Yuan has for years been fraught with problems, which prompted You to establish a committee that would propose a solution.
Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times
All proposals are to be discussed by party representatives before a decision is reached.
Relocating the legislature might take a decade or two, but it “has to start somewhere,” You said, adding that he hopes to get opinions and professional assessments from every sector.
You and committee convener Lin Jou-min (林洲民) yesterday explained their location search-and-selection process to reporters.
Over the past 30 years, 15 locations have been proposed, You said, adding that rebuilding on the current site was one of them.
Five of the proposed locations are in Taipei: Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, the 202nd Arsenal and Joint Logistics Command, Huashan 1914 Creative Park, the former Air Force Command Headquarters and the Huaguang Community, he said.
You said he welcomed four recent proposals from Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲): the Taipei Military Police building, the Taipei Reserve Command, the vehicle tow yard in Wanhua District (萬華) and the Chientan Youth Activity Center.
You plans to visit the New Taipei City Government on Thursday next week, followed by the Taichung City Government, the Changhua County Government and the Yilan County Government.
You said he would keep an open mind and ask a lot of questions.
This is not the first time that moving or rebuilding the legislature has been discussed, as there was a proposal in 1990 to move the legislature to the now-defunct Huashan Station.
The proposal was passed in 1992, but then abandoned because the budget was cut by the next legislature.
In 1999, the former Air Force Command Headquarters was proposed and a special budget was passed for the project.
That plan also fell through after the Taipei City Council opposed urban development changes and disaster relief became the priority following the 921 Earthquake.
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it is building nine new advanced wafer manufacturing and packaging factories this year, accelerating its expansion amid strong demand for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The chipmaker built on average five factories per year from 2021 to last year and three from 2017 to 2020, TSMC vice president of advanced technology and mask engineering T.S. Chang (張宗生) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “We are quickening our pace even faster in 2025. We plan to build nine new factories, including eight wafer fabrication plants and one advanced
RSS