Over the past week, people in Taiwan have become acustomed to associating Ketagalan Boulevard with political controversy.
With the peaceful conclusion of Saturday's rally, many people hoped that such open displays of contention had come to an end. They hadn't considered that the Taipei City Government and the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) would each claim responsibility for successfully dispersing the remaining pan-blue supporters, thus sparking an administrative feud for bragging rights.
Since Saturday night, Minister of the Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (
According to Chinese-language media reports, such operations involve officials from nearly every level of government, from the Presidential Office down to local police units. On Saturday night, Tsai was in charge of making "progress reports" while Yu was responsible for making "administrative system reports."
It was not immediately clear how the two types of reports differ.
Furthermore, Yu stayed at Ketagalan Boulevard until 5:30am yesterday, when the dispersion was completed.
Late last night, NPA Director-General Chang Si-liang (
Chang cited the Law on Local Government Systems (地方自治法) to Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), saying that the law gave the NPA the right to disperse the protestors along Ketagalan Boulevard.
However, this displeased Ma, as the Taipei City Government had been chiefly responsible for dealing with the protesters over the past week.
As the city government would be able to disperse the 100,000 protesters using peaceful means and minimize the impact on the city's traffic, he could not accept the NPA's request to step in during the middle of the operation, Ma said.
Ma said if the NPA insisted on carrying out the dispersion operation itself, it would have to shoulder all possible consequences. Chang decided to withdraw his request.
In reaction to the MOI's attempt to claim credit for the operation last night, Taipei City Government spokesman Wu Yu-sheng (
"Ma received orders from President Chen Shui-bian (
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vancouver, Canada, on Saturday hosted a reception to celebrate Double Ten National Day. Conservative Canadian lawmaker Marc Dalton called Taiwan a “beacon of courage and resilience in the face of rising authoritarianism,” according to a post on the Taiwan in Vancouver Facebook page. Also in attendance were fellow conservative caucus members Tako Van Popta and Chak Au, who said that Taiwan plays an “indispensable role” in ensuring global peace, prosperity and stability due to its strategic position in the Indo-Pacific region, it said. Canadian lawmaker Michael Cooper also recorded a message wishing Taiwan a
RSS