The Executive Yuan yesterday said it would respect the opinions of experts regarding the best route for a new Taichung MRT line, after Vice President William Lai (賴清德) on Saturday accused the city government run by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) of rerouting the planned Blue Line to benefit the business interests of a powerful political family.
To help resolve the controversy, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) received updates from Ministry of Transportation and Communications officials yesterday morning and had asked the Taichung City Government to provide more information on the issue, Executive Yuan spokesman Lin Tze-luen (林子倫) told reporters.
Chen said the plan for the Blue Line must be integrated with the existing Green Line to meet the needs of Taichung commuters, and everyone should respect the input of experts, Lin said.
Photo: Su Meng-chuan, Taipei Times
The Taichung City Government’s proposed revisions to the Blue Line — in which the locations of two stations were changed — required further scrutiny, as an evaluation by experts indicated that NT$63.365 billion (US$1.96 billion) more in government funding would be needed, Lin said.
The proposed new route includes an additional 450m of pedestrian walkway to connect to Salu Railway Station, he said, adding that architectural changes to several stations could negatively affect traffic flow.
The city government has been asked to explain the rationale behind the changes before the budget is approved, Lin said, rejecting reports accusing the Executive Yuan of “stalling the new Blue Line.”
Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) told a legislative session that his ministry did not care if the sites are near properties belonging to influential families, as long as they serve passengers.
“Although I understand there are controversies and the new route will take longer to review, we wish to have it approved soon after making the needed adjustments,” he said.
As the changes have been heavily questioned by lawmakers, input from experts is required, he added.
Earlier, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) told a news conference that the planned Dingping and Zhengying stations would both be in Salu District (沙鹿), close to properties controlled by a powerful local family.
The KMT-led city government has not given reasons for selecting the new sites, nor did it consult with experts when making the changes, she said, accusing it of allowing politics to influence its decisionmaking.
The original budget for the Blue Line under the previous DPP city administration was just more than NT$90 billion, but after Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) was elected in 2018, it grew to about NT$160 billion with a delay of more than five years, Lin said.
DPP Legislator Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said the new stations are close to property controlled by the Yen family, which includes former KMT legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) and his father, Yen Ching-piao (顏清標), who was a KMT legislator and Tachung County Council speaker in the 1990s and has been convicted of corruption, attempted murder and possession of firearms.
Hung accused New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the KMT’s presidential candidate, of “smearing the DPP,” as Hou said at a rally in Taichung that it was the central DPP government that was stalling the Blue Line.
“It is Lu who colluded with the Yen family to hijack the Blue Line plans, resulting in the delay,” Hung said.
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
RSS