Premier Yu Shyi-kun moved into his new official residence yesterday after the home -- which formerly belonged to a KMT official notorious for his role in the 228 Incident -- underwent a four-month restoration project.
Yu had originally planned to move into the 1,000-ping complex by April. But he was forced to delay moving in because of the home's shabby condition.
Cabinet spokesman Chuang Suo-hang (莊碩漢) said Yu and his wife moved into the complex over the past few days. The home is located at the intersection of Chinhua Street and Lishui Street in Taipei.
"As soon as the restoration project was completed on June 25 and an inspection was approved the following day, the premier and his wife in addition to 43 of the couple's entourage and security guards started moving into the residence," Chuang said.
The Cabinet originally had planned to spend more than NT$1.5 million to fix up the compound. The price tag climbed to NT$7 million after Yu decided to move into the main building of the house for security reasons instead of the second floor, which was in the best condition and required the least amount of restoration work.
There are four buildings and a swimming pool in the complex. While Yu and his wife -- who have been renting an apartment on Hsinyi Road since Yu was appointed secretary-general to the president in October -- will live in the main building, their entourage and security guards will stay in two others.
The fourth building, which is next to the pool, will be left as is to save money. Restoration expenses for that building are estimated to be several million NT dollars.
The Cabinet is leasing the complex free of charge from the Taiwan Provincial Government and National Property Bureau under the Ministry of Finance.
The house has been used as a temporary residence for Taiwan Provincial Government officials since Peng Meng-chi (
Peng served as commander of the Kaohsiung Fortress (
Housing has long been a problem for high-ranking government officials, including the vice president and the premier.
To solve the problem, Yu has proposed selecting a permanent official residence for the premier.
During the monthly closed-door meeting of the National Asset Management Committee yesterday, Yu asked the Cabinet's Central Personnel Administration to present at the next monthly meeting a proposal regarding how to more effectively manage official residences -- including those legally or illegally occupied or left vacant.
Statistics made available yesterday show that there are 87,390 official residences across the nation, many of them located in downtown Taipei. More than 2,800 were occupied as of Dec. 31.
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