Keelung demands control over port

A government plan to merge Kaohsiung City and its harbor continued to attract strong criticism yesterday, especially from Keelung politicians, who fear being left behind their southern rival.

Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) visited Keelung City yesterday and heard from the mayor, Lee Chin-yung (李進勇), who told him the plan was unfair and another sign that the central government was infringing on local governments' rights.

Lee pressed Chang, saying that if the Cabinet plans to transfer managerial authority for Kaohsiung Harbor from the central government to Kaohsiung City, it should do the same for Keelung Harbor -- at the same time.

The government has said it plans to work out measures to resolve the legislative constraints on the merger between Kaohsiung City Government and its harbor before May 20.

"Both [mergers] should take effect at the same time. There's no reason why Keelung should be left behind Kaohsiung since Keelung has also been ready for the merger," Lee told Chang, urging the Cabinet to be fair to both cities, which are ruled by DPP mayors.

"If Keelung is left behind Kaohsiung, we will react resolutely. We will probably form a raiding squad from the city's police and environmental departments to resist [the Cabinet's partiality]," Lee told reporters after Chang finished an inspection tour of Keelung's underground railway construction yesterday afternoon.

Hesitant to make a promise, Chang said that he would ask the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to work out a solution. Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭), however, told legislators yesterday that the merger plan would apply to all international harbors in Taiwan.

"This is not just a merger between the Kaohsiung City Government and its harbor. [The ministry] will take merger plans of other local governments and their harbors, including Keelung Harbor, into account," Yeh said, adding that she was open to all opinions expressed by the heads of local governments.

When asked by legislators whether President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) plans to officially announce the merger plan in Kaohsiung on May 10, Yeh said "the sooner the merger's implementation takes place, the better, so to speak, from the public's viewpoint."

Yeh reiterated that, according to Article 26 of the ministry's organization law, the merger plan in Kaohsiung would be enacted by issuing an administrative decree to establish an ad hoc administrative board. This would allow the Kaohsiung City Government's participation in the management of the harbor. Therefore, the ministry should be free from violating the law, she added.

Echoing Yeh's remarks, Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said that "the ministry's expedient device should be feasible," adding that an inter-party negotiation on the merger plan legislation should also be conducted.

Chen, however, said Wednesday night that he expected the Cabinet could work with the legislature to pass all the necessary legislation and support measures before the merger plans actually took effect.

A DPP lawmaker from Keelung, Wang Tuoh (王拓), yesterday said that he was optimistic about the needed legislation, saying "it should be able to go smoothly since the KMT has not expressed its opposition."

KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) had previously said that "the merger plans were our policies under KMT rule."