The administration of the nation's two largest municipalities officially changed hands yesterday.
In the nation's capital and largest city, former mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Meanwhile in Kaohsiung, the nation's second-largest city, Mayor Chen Chu (
PHOTO: HUANG CHIH-YUAN, TAIPEI TIMES
In Taipei, the ceremony was accompanied by city staffers who urged Ma to enter the 2008 presidential election.
The Taipei ceremony was presided over by Vice Premier Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who lauded Ma's eight-year effort to make Taipei a diverse city.
Tsai also called on Hau to seek closer cooperation with the central government and attend Executive Yuan meetings regularly because, unlike Ma, he does not have the responsibility of serving as the chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
"We also need help from Mayor Hau to find solutions to the city government's health insurance debt owed to the central government," Tsai said yesterday during the ceremony held at Taipei City Hall.
In his speech at the handover ceremony, Ma, who will now focus on his position as KMT chairman, replied to Tsai's remarks by insisting that the city government had won the lawsuit over the health insurance subsidy dispute.
Ma also urged the central government to return the portion of the money Taipei City had already paid to the health insurance system to the city.
"I also hope that the central government will pay more attention to Taipei City in the future," Ma said.
Detailing his municipal achievements -- from construction of the mass rapid transit system to the improvement of public safety -- Ma said he had fulfilled his promise to bring balanced growth to Taipei.
"I handed over a total of 43 new municipal works to Mayor Hau. This is a treatment I didn't get eight years ago [from former mayor Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁)]," Ma said.
"I expect Mayor Hau to bring Taipei into a better future," he said.
Taking oath of the office, Hau vowed to carry out his campaign promises and push for development in the city.
"I will also insist on the value of integrity and will take disciplinary action against any staff who take bribes," he said.
Hau also promised Tsai that the city government would strengthen ties with the central government and make a list of the city's needs that require the central government's assistance.
"I will make the list immed-iately," he added.
Hau later accompanied Ma as the former mayor walked out of Taipei City Hall as thousands of city staffers and residents swamped the area to send Ma off.
As he left, the crowd serenaded him with chants of "President Ma, go, go," "Mayor Ma, I love you!" and "Go for the president."
Ma later returned to the KMT headquarters but did not say whether he would shuffle personnel or ask some of his municipal aides to assist him with the party's daily operations.
In Kaohsiung, under the supervision of Premier Su Tseng-chang (
In her inauguration speech, Chen Chu said she understood that she shouldered a great responsibility in representing the city's citizens.
"I have to do my best because Kaohsiung citizens have expectations for me and cherish me," she said.
"Only by challenging myself to the fullest in carrying out the city's work can I show my gratitude to everyone," she said.
Although she felt challenged to do a better job than former Kao-hsiung mayors, her administrative team would work closely to achieve that goal, she said.
Yeh told the attendees that she had completed her "rescue mission" of the city successfully, referring to the manner in which she became Kaohsiung's acting mayor after former mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) stepped down because of the involvement of his father, Chen Che-nan (陳哲男), in brokering Thai workers for the construction of the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit system two years ago.
"I can put down my concerns for Kaohsiung [because] Mayor Chen Chu will assume more responsibility [to the city]. Now I can begin a pleasant and free journey of my own," Yeh said.
"I am a Kaohsiung citizen. Kaohsiung gives me have a better understanding of Taiwan," Chen Chu said.
"It also gives me have a fresh understanding of southern Taiwan," she said.
"It is a quality unique to Kao-hsiung citizens to show their affection. Therefore, I want to be like a typical Kaohsiung citizen. I love Kaohsiung," she said.
Su praised Chen Chu's achievements when she served as minister of the Council of Labor Affairs and as Kaohsiung City's director-general of the Bureau of Social Affairs.
"As is her personality, she did her best and achieved great things. She won the support of Kaohsiung citizens and became the mayor. We should all applaud her," Su said.
also see stories:
KMT wins city councils' leadership
Feature: Ma Ying-jeou: how did he do in office?
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
RSS