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.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
RSS