In one last endeavor to reach out to the Taipei City Government and establish dialogue over the forced closures of stores in the Shida Night Market, the Shida Shopping District Development Promotion Association and the Allied Guardians of Shida Commercial, both advocacy groups for business owners, in tandem with nearly 400 stores, launched a silent protest yesterday evening by turning their lights off for 30 minutes.
“We want fair treatment!” a group of shopowners chanted in unison amid the “lights-out” protest.
With the first wave of the city government’s notice of payment for violations given out to businesses in the area, some store owners are already making plans to close shop by the end of the month.
Photo: Tsai Wei-chi, Taipei Times
Because of the Shida Night Market’s location within a residential area, expansion of the night market in recent years has caused local residents to complain to the city government about the growing levels and amounts of noise, garbage and greasy smoke produced.
Many of the restaurants and clothing stores in the Shida Night Market have set up shop in alleys less than 6m across and are in violation of a Taipei City urban planning bylaw which prohibits the operation of restaurants, retail stores or service-related businesses in alleys less than 6m wide.
Many of the store owners said they are worried they would be forced to close shop because they do not meet legal requirements.
More than 400 stores in the area switched off their lights in protest, beginning at 8pm, in hopes that it would persuade the Taipei City Government to listen to their pleas and offer a channel of communication. Owners of the stores spanning Pucheng Street, Longquan Street and Shida Road Alley 39, prepared glow sticks and encouraged supporters of the Shida Night Market to take a stand with them.
A number of restaurants in the Shida Night Market area had responded to the Taipei City Government’s crackdown on stores in narrow alleys by closing for lunch on Thursday.
In a move meant to both inconvenience the public and attract its support, many restaurant owners on Thursday closed their stores at noon and put up notices that read: “Why only Shida Night Market?” and “Is it fair?”
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a