A NT$4 billion request from the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp to get the MRT up and running again will be submitted to city councilors today for their imprimatur.
In addition, the city's Bureau of Transportation has asked the Taipei City Government for NT$225 million to repair electrical equipment, fire equipment and automatic toll machines in 11 city parking lots that were damaged by flooding during Typhoon Nari.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
But city councilors say they're reluctant to approve the requests.
They're upset because transportation officials haven't been able to provide any assurances as to when the MRT -- which has only had service on the Mucha line since Nari hit last week -- will be fully operationally again.
Both funding requests will be submitted to the Taipei City Council for final approval this afternoon.
Richard Chen (
In addition, Chen said that Kunyang Station had been flooded and that the "third rail" -- the rail that provides trains with electric power on the Pannan line from Kunyang to Longshan Temple Station -- must also be replaced.
Chen said that it was too early to assess the full extent of financial losses incurred throughout the city's MRT system, but that NT$4 billion should cover the damages.
"We've been trying to save as much property from the floods as possible to keep our losses under NT$4 billion," Chen said.
KMT City Councilor Wang Hao (
"You have not given us a guarantee as to when full MRT service will resume, and we don't know whether you will come back to ask for more money before then," Wang said.
Chen didn't respond.
Another city councilor noted that there have been conflicting reports about when the MRT would be up and running.
"Last week, right after the floods, you said the MRT would not be operational within the next six months," said Wang Shih-chien (
"A few days ago, you said the MRT would resume full service within two months. Today, you're telling us you don't know."
Chen said that nothing could be guaranteed at this moment, "because we need to investigate further before we can establish exactly how bad it is."
Wang also raised the question of whether human error played a part in the flooding of Taipei Railway Station, as Kunyang Station had flooded some 12 hours before.
"It doesn't make sense to the public that no precautionary work was done after Kunyang Station was flooded," Wang said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique