Projects to improve local transportation infrastructure and pedestrian safety would be stalled if the central government budget for the next fiscal year does not pass, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) said yesterday in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times).
The central government’s overall budget plan has been stalled by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), which are demanding that budget increases passed by the legislature earlier this year on logging compensation and agricultural pricing be incorporated into the budget.
If the budget does not pass, about one-third of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ (MOTC) NT$150 billion (US$4.68 billion) budget would be inaccessible, Chen said.
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times
“This would have a large impact on the public, as public transportation services such as local and interregional buses that rely on MOTC subsidies might not be able to run,” he said.
Many public representatives are concerned about ongoing local infrastructure projects, such as highway and provincial road maintenance, local subway systems and improving Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC), which all require MOTC funding and would be stalled if the budget does not pass, Chen said.
Chen discussed the ministry’s plan to repair and improve the TRC’s North Link Line that runs between Hualien and Yilan counties, which has suffered repeated damage from landslides and heavy rains following a large earthquake on April 3.
Reconstruction of Siaocingshui Bridge (小清水溪橋) is expected to be completed by the end of the year, allowing two-way rail traffic through the area, Chen said.
While this would improve rail operations, it is not a long-term solution, as the area is prone to landslides, he said.
The ministry is considering constructing an elevated railway between Chongde (崇德) and Heren (和仁) stations, which would allow landslides to flow underneath the tracks, Chen said.
In areas where elevated lines are not possible, a tunnel could be built to enclose the tracks to improve safety, he said.
The ministry’s plan to protect pedestrian rights and improve pedestrian safety, which includes improvements to 799 dangerous intersections across Taiwan, would also be stalled if the budget does not pass, Chen said, adding that this is a key topic of concern for the public.
This plan has a budget of NT$40 billion over four years, requiring annual allocations to local governments to improve intersections in their areas.
About 60 accident-prone intersections in Taichung, Chen’s hometown, are scheduled for improvement, he said.
“We have mapped out the project and plan to improve all 799 high-risk intersections by the end of the year,” Chen added.
‘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
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS