A world-class stadium will be built in Kaohsiung before the opening of the 2009 World Games in the city, acting Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said yesterday.
The acting mayor said that he is confident that Kaohsiung will be an exemplary host and that Taiwan will be proud.
Speaking to Taiwanese media immediately after receiving the flag of the World Games from International World Games Association chairman Ron Froehlich at the closing ceremony of the 2005 Games, Chen said that hosting big events like the World Games is a demonstration of a city's international competitiveness.
Chen, who led a 400-member delegation from Kaohsiung to the host city of Duisburg for the 2005 World Games, said that members of the Kaohsiung team, including officials from the Kaohsiung City Government, have picked up valuable tips on hosting the World Games.
Noting that preparations have already begun, Chen said that the Kaohsiung City Government plans to build the main stadium for the 2009 World Games with NT$5.35 billion (US$168.77 million) that has been allocated by the central government as a special project.
The next World Games will be in Kaohsiung July 16 to July 26 in 2009, with over 3,200 athletes from 90 countries around the world taking part in more than 30 events.
The main stadium, to be located at an abandoned naval base in Tsoying (左營), Kaohsiung City, will seat 50,000 and have a 400m track-and-field competition arena.
The Kaohsiung City Government has sponsored three workshops for international bidders, builders and contractors, Chen said, adding that contracts for the development of the main stadium and other peripheral facilities will be signed by the end of this year and the winning bidders should begin their designs early next year.
Groundbreaking for the stadium is scheduled to begin in July next year and construction will start in 2007, with the facility expected to be finished by January 2009, Chen said.
The World Games is a global athletic competition of sports not included in the Olympic Games. It will be the largest-ever international sports event held in Taiwan.
Food delivery provider Foodpanda had 564 consumer disputes from January to last month and failed to attend many mediation sessions with local governments nationwide, the Executive Yuan’s Consumer Protection Committee said. In a news release earlier this month, the committee said that it investigated consumer complaints and mediations for Foodpanda and rival Uber Eats during the period, when the number of delivery orders jumped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Uber Eats had 80 consumer disputes, the committee said. Of Foodpanda’s consumer disputes, 368 resulted from delivery drivers canceling orders after customers could not be reached, 108 were related to the quality or quantity
‘HONEYMOON’ IS OVER: A political science professor said that the Tsai administration’s popularity peaked after it successfully contained COVID-19, but is waning President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) and Premier Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌) approval ratings fell significantly this month in the wake of the government’s handling of the distribution of relief funds and stimulus coupons to people and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, a poll released yesterday by the New Power Party (NPP) showed. The poll showed that 68 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with Tsai’s performance, down 8.9 percentage points from last month, while 21 percent said they disapproved of her performance. Her approval among respondents aged 20 to 29 fell 14.7 percentage points, the largest decrease when compared with other age
Passengers arriving at Taoyuan International Airport will find that most entrances to both terminals have been sealed off as part of its COVID-19 prevention efforts. Follow the signs and directions posted on the doors to find the nearest entry point. The airport has installed infrared cameras and thermometer guns at all open entrances, and all persons with a temperature of over 37.5 degrees Celsius are prohibited from entering the terminal. In addition, staff will take the temperature of those checking in to their flights in advance at Airport MRT stations A1 and A3. In accordance with the Centers of Disease
A 35-year-old man has undergone a 3D endoscopic mastectomy, after having injected himself with more than 3 liters of soybean oil over eight years. The man, whose name was not revealed, had complained that his breasts were becoming loose and losing their shape, said Chunghwa Christian Hospital Endoscopic Mastectomy Center director Lai Hung-wen (賴鴻文), who performed the surgery last year. At age 27, the man began searching for inexpensive breast augmentation methods, before learning about soybean oil injection from a cosmetic surgery Web site, Lai said. Over the past eight years, the man injected himself at home 10 times, starting with about 50ml
RSS