Mayor Ma admits errors as borough wardens protest

Chang Shu-cheng, warden of the Chihnan Borough in Taipei's Wenshan District, tears his election certificate in two at yesterday's inauguration ceremony to show his dissatisfaction with the city government's reform initiatives. PHOTO: CHU PEI-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES

Taipei Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday conceded that reform of the city's lower tiers of government had been introduced too quickly.

His comments came after nearly 100 of 449 newly elected borough wardens boycotted an award ceremony marking the start of their terms of office.

"The Bureau of Civil Affairs has introduced the plan too suddenly," Ma told the wardens at the ceremony. "Bureau Director Lin Cheng-hsiu (林正修) apologized yesterday, as you can see in today's newspapers. We will re-examine the plan thoroughly."

Chinese-language reported that Lin had apologized to borough wardens at a closed-door meeting on Wednesday.

However, 98 of the 449 borough wardens elected on Jan. 8 boycotted yesterday's event, while others called for Lin to step down.

One Chang Shu-cheng (張舒程) from the Chihnan Borough in Wenshan District, tore up his certificate immediately after receiving it from Taipei City Deputy Mayor Pai Hsiu-hsiung (白秀雄).

"What the Taipei City Government has done, including the postponement of the borough chief elections, the rezoning of boroughs and the revision of borough wardens' powers, is totally bureaucratic," he said. "The city government has never consulted us properly on these issues."

Under new scheme, which began yesterday, borough wardens, who used to have sole authority to appoint their neighborhood chiefs, may now only issue recommendations for the appointment, on which the final decision will rest with district chiefs, who are appointed by the mayor.

The appointed neighborhood chiefs would have to include directors of local community management boards, which take care of apartment blocks.

The Bureau of Civil Affairs also plans to cut the monthly NT$2,000 transport allowance for neighborhood chiefs, awarding half the amount to the borough wardens.

But the borough wardens complain that the change will create tension between them and the neighborhood chiefs, who they say will feel that the borough wardens are depriving them of half of a subsidy to which they consider themselves entitled.

The wardens complained that the plan has effectively smeared them and diminished their status. They said society believed that they did a lucrative job for purely selfish reasons.

Lin unable to finish his speech amid the commotion at the ceremony, but later told reporters, "The reform scheme is not designed to deprive borough wardens of their power, but to make their use of budgets more transparent, and to allow more people to take part in community affairs."

One of the new plan is that wardens must hold a public meeting every six months to account for their expenditures.

Ma, despite conceding that the plan had been implemented too quickly, told reporters, "I support him," when asked whether Lin would have to step down.

Borough receive a monthly allowance of NT$45,000 for stationary, postal, electric and water bills and an annual NT$200,000 subsidy for local construction expenditures. They also receive payments from local construction works or public facilities deemed to have reduced the quality of life in their communities.