The second floor will serve as a parking lot for about 400 cars.
A six-story complex, estimated to cost NT$600 million, will replace the patchwork of lanes and alleys that form the current night market in three years time.
According to Hope, every area of the facility has the potential for absurdity.
Taking the parking lot as an example, the city plans to charge NT$100 per car, Hope said.
"I don't think it makes sense, particularly for those who need to park for a short period of time," she said, adding that vendors like her often need to access the market's parking lot on a daily basis.
"It will still cost me a fortune even if it takes me only five minutes to unload my stuff," she said. "And what if I need to do that five times a day?"
In addition to the parking fee, Hope said that the expenses at the new facility are more than what they are now.
"Take the cleaning fee, for example. It'll double from NT$600 to NT$1,200 a month, not to mention the electricity fee, which will cost NT$2 more per unit than for regular stores," she said. "In addition, while it costs NT$2,000 to rent a booth at the old place, the new booth will cost NT$1,000 more."
Hope said that she is particularly worried about the future of another parking lot at the ground level of the complex.
"I've learned that the city plans to lease the area to gangsters so they can profit from leasing the location to interested people for other purposes," she said.
Leasing plan
In addition, Hope said that Wu has been trying to turn Tatung and Tanan roads near her family house into a pedestrian area which Hope said Wu can lease to vendors.
"I know I'm putting my life in danger by making such allegations. My father-in-law also told me to stay out of trouble," she said. "But all I've ever wanted is to keep this place free from gangsters' manipulation and blood suckers."
After digging up all the dirt from various sources over the past month, Hope said that she has lost 3kg.
"Someone has even warned me to shut up or else I'll get myself killed," she said.
But Hope said she is not afraid.
"If I don't stand up for myself, nobody will," she said.
However, to protect her safety, Hope said that she has requested a restraining order for the man who intimidated her.
"But I don't think it's going to do me any good, because the people at the police precinct are familiar with the guy who intimated me," she said. "I think I'll just have to be careful on my way home after getting off work."
Reservations
Other vendors expressed hesitation about the relocation.
Sixty-year-old Lin Feng-chin (
"I'm afraid that everything will be entirely different when we come back years later," she said.
Lin said that she has seen things at the market change over the years.
"When I first started, this place was kind of spooky because I was the only vendor here while the rest were gathering around a temple nearby," she said.
At her stand's peak, Lin said that she sold 460 pancakes a day at a price of NT$2 each. Now she sells 40 to 60 at a price of NT$35 each.
Cheng Lung-fu (
"I doubt people would want to shop at the new place when it's more convenient for them to shop at illegal street vendors gathering around the market and vying with us for business," he said. "If I could, I'd want to be an illegal vendor because I don't need to pay NT$5,000 every month in various taxes and expenses."
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