To reiterate Taipei City's objection to a decision to open public access to a section of the Taipei-Ilan highway, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Concern about potential damage to water quality in Feitsui Reservoir -- a source of water for both Taipei City and County -- if the section of the highway between Pinglin (
Pan-green city councilors also voiced support for the city government's position during Ma's special report on the issue on Tuesday.
Ma yesterday reiterated the city government's resolve to defend the rights and interests of the 8 million people in Taipei City and County, saying the group will visit the ministry and the EPA, regardless of whether the heads of the two agencies will receive them or not.
"We feel that the central government has not taken the issue seriously ? the purpose of the visit is to highlight the seriousness of the issue, and we hope that they will change their minds," Ma told reporters yesterday after attending a forum at the city government.
Ma made the decision to invite city councilors and environmental groups to take part in the visit yesterday during a morning meeting with staff.
Ma said that if the ministry and the EPA fail to offer a positive response to the city government, it may visit Premier Frank Hsieh (
While determined to voice strong opposition to the government's decision on the highway, Ma said the visit will be "a courtesy call within the administrative system," and not a "protest."
During Ma's special report on the issue on Tuesday, city councilors blamed the central government for ignoring advice from environmentalists.
"The [ministry] followed unlawful procedures in giving the public access to the section and ignored Taipei citizens' rights and interests concerning drinking water. We call on the central government to respect citizens' voices and withdraw their decision," Democratic Progressive Party Councilor Lee Chian-chang (
The decision to allow public access to the section has drawn criticism from many environmentalists and the city government.
Both argue that Taipei-Ilan highway will cause pollution and potentially lower the water quality in Feitsui Reservoir, mirroring recent problems experienced by Shihmen Reservoir.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
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