A municipal renovation project at Treasure Hill, a historical community in southern Taipei, commenced yesterday amid opposition from several residents who have refused to vacate the neighborhood.
Home to veterans of the Chinese Civil War who fled to Taiwan with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) around 60 years ago, Treasure Hill was packed with aging and illegal structures built by the residents.
Although the Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs has recognized the area's historical significance and promised to preserve it, some residents have refused to cooperate with the city government's two-year reconstruction project, which required the residents to move to temporary houses by yesterday.
"It's too rushed. The city government only told us about the move a month ago, and the temporary accommodation wasn't ready until yesterday. It's too much to ask us to move out by today," said a 70-year-old resident surnamed Chang, who declined to give his full name.
The department, along with workers from Taiwan Power Corp, Taipei Water Corporation and police officers cut off the area's utilities and asked residents from 29 households to move out, so that the repair work could proceed as scheduled.
Department spokesman Teng Tsung-te (鄧宗德) said that of the 60 to 70 households in the community, 29 chose to move to a transitional housing block nearby the construction area.
Most households chose to take a payout of NT$720,000 to move out of the community, he said.
Disputing the city government's handling of the case, Yang Chi-chie (
"We don't think the city government should continue the reconstruction if it really wants to preserve the place," he said.
There were residents, however, who cooperated with the project.
"It's not safe anymore to live in those shabby houses, and I am actually looking forward to the new houses," said Chang Shou-li (張守禮), director of the Treasure Hill Cultural Association, which was organized by local residents.
The department cooperated with the private sector in 2003 on the Treasure Hill Artivists Cooperative project aimed at turning the area into an artist community.
The department said it will negotiate with the remaining residents.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost