The 23 county commissioners and city mayors elected in the Dec. 1 elections took their oaths of office yesterday. And in a sign of difficult times, most promised to boost their local economies.
The handover ceremonies were held under the auspices of the Ministry of the Interior in the requisite counties and cities across the country.
Taoyuan County's new commissioner, Chu Li-lun (朱立倫), said that he would deal with the top three problems he said Taoyuan residents are most concerned about: traffic, security and financial difficulties.
PHOTO: CHEN CHUN-SHENG, TAIPEI TIMES
He said that the Taoyuan County Government will bring more bus-inesses into the county and promised to shorten the application process to obtain permission to build plants in the county.
The new DPP commissioner in Chiayi County, Chen Ming-wen(陳明文), said that since Chiayi is primarily an agricultural region, his government will face tough challenges upgrading the sector to deal with Taiwan's entry into the WTO. He added, however, that "Crisis also means opportunity. I believe that if we cooperate with each other, we will meet the challenges."
The incoming DPP commissioner of Tainan County, Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智), made the same promise in his mainly agricultural county.
Su also promised to establish a biotech park and, like his predecessor Chen Tang-shan (陳唐山), "to bring business from all over Taiwan" into the county.
In Taipei County, re-elected DPP commissioner Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) promised to improve the county's investment environment.
"I will spend every penny appropriately, strengthen the government's administrative efficiency, create more job opportunities and push for greater cooperation between the central and local governments," Su said.
In Miaoli County, independent Commissioner Fu Hseuh-peng (傅學鵬) proposed four goals for Miaoli, including building a university and developing technology, tourism and welfare.
In Hsinchu City, KMT Mayor Lin Cheng-tse (林政則) emphasized his social welfare policy, promising an increase in subsidies for the elderly and women's maternity allowances.
In Taichung City, outgoing mayor Chang Wen-ying (張溫鷹) said she hopes the newly elected mayor, Jason Hu, will help Taichung overtake Kaohsiung and Taipei to become Taiwan's "top city."
The DPP, which controlled 12 districts in 1997, won just nine city and county districts this time around. The KMT, which previously controlled eight counties, was victorious in nine districts.
Independent candidates and the People First Party captured two districts each, while the New Party took only Kinmen County.
Local heads have complained bitterly about their financial plight since the election. Many local government are heavily reliant on loans.
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) promised at a meeting with all of the newly elected leaders last Sunday that the Cabinet will adopt measures to help them cope with their fiscal woes.
Emotional incidents, however, marred the ceremonies in Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Chiayi.
In Chiayi County, outgoing commissioner Lee Ya-ching (李雅景) failed to attend the handover ceremony for "personal reasons." In Taoyuan County, a county councilor heckled outgoing commissioner Hsu Ying-shen (許應深) during his speech and in Hsinchu County, the newly elected commissioner's supporters implored the outgoing commissioner, Lin Kuang-hua (林光華), to end his speech after he had spoken for over an hour.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
RSS