Taipei Times: In a survey conducted by the China Times daily earlier this month, people's satisfaction with you overtook that of Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Frank Hsieh (謝長廷): I think Kaohsiung's change gave residents of the city a lot of confidence and hope about the future. The past few years I've been worried that Kao-hsiung is racing against time, and the people's trust in the mayor they elected was essential. If people doubted the mayor's loyalty to the city and spoke badly of him, it would be difficult for us to do my job. I am happy to see that a high number of Kaohsiung residents are full of expectations about the future.
I would say such a high expectation for the city's future was the result of constant interaction between the city government and residents -- though I know most residents are impressed by the transformation of the city's landscape and new infrastructure. We kept our promises to finish municipal construction step by step. For example, we succeeded in purifying and beautifying the Love River and the Chienchen River and made great improvements in the quality of tap water in Kaohsiung.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
residents gradually built up their confidence and even have more confidence than we do in certain events, such as for the 2009 World Games, a project for which we don't have any experience. Some people have even asked me to run in the mayoral election again, even though this is my second term in office.
I think Kaohsiung residents have experienced the city government's sense of mission and sincerity. For a local government, it would be a lot easier to push municipal construction if local residents are proud of their city's progression.
On the other hand, it is a pity that the people of Taiwan waste too much time on political wrangling. Lawmakers always look busy but seldom solve any problems. They simply focused on something illusory and trivial.
For example, five years ago, many city councilors boycotted a construction development plan in Sanmin district because they disapproved of the city government. City councilors didn't pass the project until recently because they found that the development of the Sanmin district has dragged far behind other districts. We could have created nearly 15,000 jobs in the development plan.
Thus, I made up my mind at that time that I didn't want the Kaohsiung City Government to sit idle because of some boycott. Kaohsiung is racing against time and I will endeavor to carry out my promises to the residents in my remaining term.
TT: Kaohsiung has won its bid to host the 2009 World Games. At this point, what does the city need to hold such a big international sports event?
Hsieh: Actually we don't have any experience holding an international event like this. We haven't built a qualified stadium so far and we need a lot of resources and support from the private sector. Therefore, we are planning a series of trips to learn from other countries' experiences. We will also hold many invitational tournaments as a warm-up for the 2009 World Games.
Besides that, we also have to deal with many problems that we've never faced before, such as adequate space for the competition, accommodation and reception for athletes and their families, public security, transportation, tourism and so on.
I also think this honor belongs to all the people in Taiwan, and not exclusively Kaohsiung City. Kaohsiung will share the experience and accomplishments with Taipei, Tainan, Pingtung and even Beijing, who will host the 2008 Olympics. Although it was Kaohsiung that won the bid for the World Games, I think we need help from the entire nation. We will also launch an official Web site to introduce everything about Kaohsiung and let people know more about this beautiful harbor city.
Moreover, we also appoint a sports director-general to manage the overall arrangements and plans accordingly. We will soon establish a preparatory committee and then hold the international croquet championships in Kaohsiung in October. In fact, the Olympics Committee and ESPN television will also give Kaohsiung some help by inviting many international championships to Kaohsiung, such as professional billiards tournaments. We will go to Germany next year to accept the flags conferred by the president of the International World Games Association (IWGA).
I think the most important point of holding the 2009 World Games is that it gives the people of Taiwan a common goal after years of division. We have focused too much on politics in recent years, which is not healthy. I hope the games can transfer Taiwanese people's attention away from political disputes to a more relaxed issue.
We hope that the central government could support us with the budget to construct a major stadium for the world games.
TT: If President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) quits his post as chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), would you take over the chairmanship again, having been in that position in 2000?
Hsieh: No, I don't have such a plan. At the moment I am happy with my position as mayor of Kao-hsiung, where I feel I've achieved a lot.
TT: How do you react to your supporters' hope that you would become the new premier in 2005?
Hsieh: I am encouraged by their support, which means that they approve of our efforts in Kaohsiung's construction projects. But I think any position can't be predicted or planned. What I care about is Kao-hsiung. Speculation will not necessarily become facts.
TT: What do you think about Vice President Annette Lu's (呂秀蓮) suggestion of moving the nation's capital from Taipei to Kaohsiung?
Hsieh: The government has to work out a complete plan before announcing a policy. In terms of the issue of moving the nation's capital, I think Lu was just trying to suggest a direction for the nation. However, moving a capital is a huge undertaking. Many countries have similar plans, yet few of them have been achieved. Perhaps we can start by moving some of the governmental departments, such as the Taiwan Fisheries Administration under the Council of Agriculture, the Council of Labor Affairs or the Industry Development Bureau [of the Ministry of Economic Affairs] to Kaohsiung. I think everything is possible as long as we prepare a complete plan and have the determination.
TT: The pan-green camp just won over half of the city council seats in Saturday's by-election. How will the election result influence your municipal administration in your remaining term of roughly two and one-half years?
Hsieh: I have mixed feelings about the election result. Ironically, the pan-green camp has currently more than half the seats in the city council after 18 city councilors were dismissed because of vote-buying. In fact, the city council has passed 36 bills since then, as only 26 city councilors participated in the vote procedure. The Kaohsiung City Council is the most efficient council in the country. I'm sort of worried about that the city council's agenda would be overly influenced by the new councilors.
Logically, more city councilors can serve more people. But it seems here in Taiwan there is a general problem that the more city councilors we have, the more trouble we experience. It was unfair that people's taxes paid those city councilors who earned about NT$400,000 per month and yet were late for meetings or did not attend meetings regularly.
I hope the city councilors will fulfill their responsibility of monitoring and running the council agenda more efficiently, rather than boycotting everything like before.
More support means more responsibility. We will perform better in municipal governance and fulfill our promises to the residents of this city.
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