Amid vociferous protests and shoving matches, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Promising not to boycott Ma in the same fashion that pan-blue lawmakers have used in the legislature, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) councilors used long speeches and protests to criticize Ma for providing an "unprofessional and incomplete municipal report" and for ignoring his responsibilities as mayor since being elected Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman.
"The municipal report only gave good news and failed to include problematic issues such as the lawsuit Taipei MRT lost to Matra, and delays to many construction projects," the DPP's caucus leader Councilor Chen Cheng-teh (
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
Upset by the pan-green camp's obstructions, KMT Councilor Yang Shih-chiu (
Council Speaker Wu Bi-chu (
Prior to reporting on "how to build Taipei into a healthy city," Ma responded to councilors' questions, in which DPP and KMT councilors were split on whether the issue of Feitsui Reservoir (翡翠水庫) should be of concern to the city government.
"Opening up access to the section between Pinglin (坪林) and Shiding (石碇) on the Taipei-Ilan highway will influence the water quality of Feitsui Reservoir," Ma said. "This concerns the rights and interests of the 8 million people in Taipei city and county. Of course it is the responsibility of the city government. I don't agree that it is only an issue for the Legislative Yuan."
During the question-and-answer session, an allegation that Bureau of Civil Affairs Ho Hung-jung's (
According to reports in the Chinese-language media, Ho was absent from work early this month when Typhoon Khanun hit the island as he was on vacation with his secretary in Bali.
Ma defended Ho yesterday, saying that Ho had asked for leave. But he promised to continue an investigation into whether Ho needs to take any responsibility regarding the matter.
Ho yesterday denied the accusation and said that he did ask for leave by having his staff apply for him. He also denied having an affair with his secretary.
After the discussions ended, the council agreed that Ma and his team should prepare special reports on four issues between now and next month, including the donation of part of the Institute on Policy Research and Development's land to Yong-jian Elementary School, the reform of the city hospital system and delays in construction projects.
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
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS